“I regret having taken part in this war, I apologize to the Ukrainians.” This young Russian interviewed by “Complément d’Enquête” would have fought for four months in the paramilitary organization Wagner before fleeing. He claims to be able to testify to war crimes committed in Ukraine by members of this private militia in the service of Vladimir Putin.
He would be the first deserter from the Russian paramilitary Wagner militia. He told “Complément d’Enquête” how he allegedly left Russia by illegally crossing the Norwegian border on the night of January 12 to 13, 2023, after having fought for four months on Ukrainian soil. “The border guards came after me. They shot twice in my direction and I ran on the river which was frozen,” explained Andrei Medvedev, 26.
Why did you accept this interview, broadcast on February 16 after a document on the hunt for war criminals in Ukraine? “Because I have things to reveal”, replies the one who presents himself as a former mercenary, attracted by the pay (much higher at Wagner than that of the regular army), and the group’s reputation for efficiency in Russia… Today, the more important to him, he assures, “it’s to help ensure that those responsible for certain acts that are happening in Ukraine are still judged one day”.
Beatings, summary execution…
Atrocities, he would have seen “more than one time” – for example this gang rape which he suspects to have been committed in the officers’ quarters, where he found “girls in tears” in the presence of a drunk command. But according to his explanations, he can only testify before the Norwegian criminal police (which is participating in the international investigation into war crimes currently underway).
Within the paramilitary militia, he claims to have witnessed “beatings of Wagner fighters who (….) had just responded badly to their commander” or the summary execution of two soldiers who refused to obey orders.
“The officers said they were cowards, and they announced: ‘This is what we do to traitors in times of war’… They shot them in front of us.”
Andrei Medvedev, veteran of the Wagner militia in Ukrainein an interview with “Complément d’Enquête”
He himself would have been beaten and locked up for three days in a container without eating or drinking, after having protested against “dumb orders, like sending men armed with machine guns in front of tanks”.
Prigozhin, “he’s sick”
Would he say that the fighters of Wagner, this private paramilitary organization which notably recruits detainees to send them to the Ukrainian front, are only cannon fodder? “Yes, that’s what it’s called”, confirms Andrei Medvedev. As for their leader, Evgueni Prigojine, for him, “he’s sick”, whose “Vladimir Putin left too much freedom”.
Andrei Medvedev led, according to him, a small group of Wagner militiamen (to prove it, he only has a photo of a plate with a number), engaged in the fighting which raged around Bakhmout, city of Donbass which has become a stake for the paramilitary group. “We were led to believe that she had been offered to Wagner, and that Wagner had to take control of it”, he explains. According to him, the mission was beyond their capabilities.
“What really happened in Bakhmout was that we had to literally walk over our corpses.”
Andrei Medvedevto “Further investigation”
Currently a refugee in Oslo, Andrei Medvedev says he feels relatively safe despite “some fears” as for people who might want to silence him… Among which “Wagner’s boss (who accuses Andrei Medvedev of having tried to mistreat prisoners and calls him a “dangerous”) , the President of the Russian Federation, some deputies of the Federal Assembly, perhaps people close to power. And then some Wagner fans”…
An interview conducted by Complément d’Enquête, broadcast in full on February 16, 2023 as part of the evening “Ukraine, an endless war?”.
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