A former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner revealed on Monday that he fled Russia for Norway, evading guard dogs as the federal security service (formerly the KGB) tried to shoot him in the back.
“I ran and ran and ran on an icy surface until I reached the first town [norueguesa] and ask for help,” said veteran Andrei Medvedev.
According to a video sent to the Russian organization for the defense of human rights Gulagu.net -which showed the images on the Telegram channel-, the former commander of the Wagner group managed to flee Russia on the 12th, entering Norway across the border. in the border town of Nikel in the Murmansk region.
Medvedev requested political asylum and international protection and managed to be accommodated in a center for violators of immigration laws.
“I am very happy to be in Norway and the treatment they have given me,” he said.
It is the first time since the beginning of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, on February 24, that a former commander of one of the paramilitary units of the Wagner group, very present in eastern Ukraine and accused of having killed thousands of Ukrainians. , has fled from Russia to Europe.
Medvedev, who served in Wagner’s assault detachment, agreed to testify and expose the founder of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, adds Gulagu.net.
“I hope that my testimony will be fundamental to the investigation of [o grupo] Wagner,” said the former fighter.
In early December 2022, former Commander Wagner turned to Gulagu.net and its founder, Vladimir Osechkin, for help and to avoid extrajudicial reprisals.
Medvedev stopped fighting for the Wagner group as soon as his four-month contract, signed on July 6, 2022, ended.
“During these months [em que fez parte do grupo paramilitar]he witnessed many executions of the so-called ‘refuseniks’, those who refused to fight against the Ukrainians and wanted to leave the mercenary group,” recalls Gulagu.net.
“After Medvedev left the Wagner group, Prigozhin himself and his security service took steps to capture Andrei,” adds the organization, which maintains that the former commander can now give detailed testimony that can be used as part of an investigation. .
Source: TSF
