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Andrei Medvedev spent several months in Ukraine as part of the Wagner group.
He served the Wagner group as a commander in the war of aggression against Ukraine. Then he fled to Norway. Now Andrei Medvedev (26) unpacks. It was the brutality he experienced in Ukraine that made him defect.
In an interview with CNN, Medvedev explains how the mercenary force of Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin (61) deal with reluctant recruits: “They rounded up those who didn’t want to fight and shot them in front of the newcomers,” says Medvedev . “They brought two prisoners who refused to fight and shot them and buried them right in the trenches dug by the trainees.”
Recruited after serving time in prison
Before Medvedev joined the Wagner troupe, he says he was serving a prison sentence for theft in southern Russia. After serving time in prison, he was put in charge of a mercenary group of prisoners who were sent on “almost suicidal missions” around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
The New York Times reports that the Wagner Group has had a system for recruiting prisoners since last summer. Around 40,000 prisoners are said to have joined the Russian armed forces so far. Ukraine claims that almost 30,000 deserted or were killed or wounded.
In videos published on social media, Prigozhin promised the prisoners 100,000 rubles a month – the equivalent of about 1,300 francs and almost double the Russian average wage. He also lured with bravery bonuses and pardons from the President.
Prigozhin accuses ex-mercenaries of attempted abuse
Medvedev, who according to his own statement reported directly to the Wagner boss, now describes Prigozhin as “the devil”. The ex-mercenary goes on to say: “If he were a Russian hero, he would have taken a gun and fought with the soldiers.”
Prior to the interview, Prigozhin had already confirmed that Medvedev had served in his unit, but at the same time tried to damage his credibility. He accused him of attempted abuse of prisoners. Medvedev did not want to talk about these allegations in the CNN interview. On the other hand, he said that the military action of the Wagner group was chaotic. “There was no right tactic at all.” Only the position of the enemy was transmitted, but no specific orders on how to attack him.
According to Medvedev, it was already clear on his sixth day of action that he did not want to return to the front again. Too often he had to see soldiers being turned into cannon fodder. There was always a supply of mercenaries – especially former prisoners – but most of them didn’t survive long: “I couldn’t count how many there were. They were constantly circulating. More dead, more prisoners, more dead, more prisoners.”
«Propaganda will lose its effectiveness»
By going public, Medvedev wants to help bring Prigozhin and Putin to justice. “Sooner or later the propaganda in Russia will lose its effectiveness,” says the ex-Wagner commander. Then the country’s government will be overthrown, he is certain.
With his flight and public statements, Medvedev is a thorn in Prigozhin’s side. It’s no secret that the Wagner boss is particularly cruel to deserters. Prigozhin publicly celebrated the fact that his subordinates killed a deserter from their own ranks with a sledgehammer. Is that why Medvedev was afraid of fleeing? The ex-mercenary says: “I would just say that it made me braver and more determined to go.”