Posted
Update
Article written by
The mercenaries of the Wagner group are particularly active in Mali and the Central African Republic. France Télévisions collected, Tuesday, May 10, the testimony of Marat Gabidullin, a former militia soldier, who confides in a book.
Marat Gabidullin is the first and only former Wagner mercenary to speak openly. He spent four years in the ranks of the ultra-secret militia, which although it does not officially exist in Russia, is nevertheless the armed wing of the Kremlin. “I understood that we were used according to the needs of Moscow like cannon fodder“, he testifies. He heard about Wagner at 48 years old, after three in prison for murder. He can then no longer serve in the Russian army, but the mercenaries are less looking at the criminal record.
The salary is attractive: more than 3,000 euros during the missions. He was sent to the Donbass in 2015, then to Syria. He claims to have never committed abuses, but is not surprised that the evidence is accumulating against Wagner. “We were not taught a code of conduct. The only objective was militaryhe said. Wagner’s people don’t officially exist, so they know they’ll never have to answer for their actions.“He is particularly critical of his former boss, Dmitri Utkin, whom he describes as “without faith or law”neither “no moral principle“.
From his story, Marat Gabidullin drew a book. He says today to be aware of the risks, but does not regret. “Someone has to talk, in Russia“, he justifies. Dozens of Wagner’s mercenaries would have died at the front in Ukraine. They will never be counted in the official statistics of Moscow.
team of the week
-
Editor-in-chief
Elsa Pallot
-
Deputy editor-in-chief
Sebastien Renout, Anne Poncinet, Arnaud Comte
-
Editor
Delphine Moninot
-
Joker
Karine Baste
The weekend team
-
Editor-in-chief
Franck Genauzeau
-
Deputy editor-in-chief
Irene Benefice, Willy Gouville, Jean-Francois Monier
-
Editor
Jean Louis Gaudin
-
Joker
Thomas Sotto
view all magazines
the news at 8 p.m.
Every day, receive your 8 p.m. news directly
Newsletter subscription
France Télévisions uses your email address to send you newsletters.
items On the same topic
Seen from Europe
Franceinfo selects daily content from European public audiovisual media, members of Eurovision. These contents are published in English or French.