Marat Gabidullin, former mercenary of the Wagner group, testifies and overwhelms the militia

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 any abuses, but is not surprised that the evidence is piling up 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.