Why does GRU need a PMC? Meet the private military company ‘Redut’ — a mercenary recruitment proxy for Russian intelligence and Spetsnaz forces — Meduza

In a joint new investigation, two divisions of Radio Free Europe — the Ukraine-based Skhemy project and the Russian media Sistema — uncovered an illicit military recruitment scheme run by Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). The military intelligence agency, it appears, is using a fictitious private military company, PMC Redut (which translates as “Redoubt”), to recruit mercenaries for the war in Ukraine. According to the journalists’ findings, PMC Redut serves as a recruitment proxy for more than 20 Russian armed formations with tens of thousands of troops. Here’s how this system works and what links it to Russia’s GRU.