TESTIMONY. War in Ukraine: “There is no way to win this war”, confides a former Russian mercenary of the Wagner group

He has been held since the beginning of October in a “waiting area” for people in court. Alexander Zlodeev, in his fifties, requested political asylum in France after leaving Russia. He was part of the Wagner group, which he left in 2017, and today remains in contact with often seasoned fighters. This company of Russian mercenaries fought in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and Mali, and since the start of the war has sent fighters to Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin.

>> War in Ukraine: follow the evolution of the situation in our live

Wagner is very present, particularly in the Ukrainian Donbass, where mercenaries had already intervened since 2014. Moreover, with the entry into force of martial law, decreed by Vladimir Putin, Yevegueni Prigojine, the boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, will form and supervise a people’s militia in the Belgorod region to monitor the border, according to official terms. alexander Zlodeevhe was assigned there in 2015.”Wagner’s fighters are essentially assault groups“, he says. “All our victories in Ukraine were made thanks to the Wagner group, it is thanks to them that they still somehow manage to move forward“, assures Alexander.

“Wagner has more experience, more esprit de corps, more motivation. They are dogs of war, people born for war.”

Alexander Zlodeev

at franceinfo

The men of the Wagner group”know how to fight“, but all the same, this war is terribly deadly for the Russians, confirms Alexander Zlodeev. And Wagner’s fighters are not spared.”Everyone says that the Russian troops are currently suffering very heavy losses. Beyond the Wagner group, I have sources in the special forces and in the intelligence of the Urals military district who say that their regiment lost 80% of its men“, he insists.

“I joined Wagner after my engagement in the Donbass in 2014, says Alexander Zlodeev. “It’s in Luhansk that I met good guys… who had the same state of mind as me“, he said. L’“state of mind” in question it is a willingly conquering Slavophilia. The “nom de guerre” of Alexandre Zlodeev is also “Vélès” the ancient god of war among the Slavs. An ideology that no longer fits very well with the current Russian operation in Ukraine, explains the former Wagner employee: “Today, Wagner’s oldest fighters ask instead to be sent to Africa… They don’t want to fight in Ukraine because they sincerely consider Ukrainians as Slavs, a brother people”.

Of course Wagner does not recruit only ideologues, the service of the combatants, often former soldiers but without exception, is duly remunerated. “When we are in the barracks we are paid 60,000 rubles a month; for a mission in the Donbass it is 120,000 rubles… and 240,000 rubles in the case of a commitment to combat”, testifies Alexander Zlodeev. That is the equivalent of 1000 to 4000 euros. An Interesting balance in Russia where the average income does not exceed 700 euros.

Since the summer, Wagner has started to recruit just about anywhere and especially anyone, especially prisoners in penitentiary centres, promising them a reduction in their sentence. New recruits held in low esteem by Alexander Zlodeev, who assures that “Any self-respecting army will refuse to go into battle alongside these detainees: that’s obvious!

“No normal fighter can trust criminals to have his back. These ex-con’s won’t be accepted by the fighting forces…I’m 100% sure of that”

Alexander Zlodeev

at franceinfo

But former detainees are also likely to be employed in non-combat duties. The Wagner Group has thus undertaken for three weeks the construction of kilometers of fortifications along the front line of Donbass. A sort of mini Maginot line, which everyone already calls only “the Wagner line”.

The future prospects for the Russian army in Ukraine are increasingly complicated, General Sergey Surovikin, commander of the Russian army, even admitted on Tuesday, October 18 that the situation was “tense” on the Ukrainian front. And particularly since the Ukrainian counter-offensives launched at the end of August, which the Russians are finding it increasingly difficult to contain.

>> War in Ukraine: the Russian army says the situation is “tense” for its troops

The hypothesis of a victory for the Russian army is not even credible according to Alexander Zlodeev. “To win ? No, there is no way to win this war today!he admits, even with Wagner’s men“.”To win, you would have to multiply their number by hundreds, he explains. And for him, it is impossible: Where to find these people? Since the time Wagner was created, many of the most experienced fighters have been killed. Now there is no one.“Currently, the fighters of the Wagner group would not exceed 8,000 men in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Several thousand of them have already been killed.