by Martha Serafini
Andrey Medvedev, 26, defected in July and is now in Oslo. He said he was ready to testify: soon to be interrogated by the Norwegian police unit investigating war crimes. On my platoon, only three men out of 30 survived, he said
A former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which fought in Ukraine, fled to Norway, where he applied for asylum. And now he could become a key witness in criminal courts investigating war crimes committed by Russia.
Andrey Medvedev, 26, says he witnessed the summary killing of Wagner fighters in Ukraine who were accused by their own commanders of disobeying orders, sometimes in pairs. After fleeing his unit, he crossed the border into Norway near the Pasvikdalen valley just before 2am on Friday, where he was arrested and detained by border guards. Finnmark Police District can confirm that a man illegally crossed the Russian-Norwegian border on January 13. was arrested at 01:58 by Norwegian border guards and the Norwegian police. He has applied for asylum in Norway, confirmed Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen, chief of staff of the Finnmark police in northern Norway, to Courier.
Medvedev was the first known Wagner group soldier employed in Ukraine who defected. Before he left Russia, The Guardian spoke to Medvedev in several phone calls. I fought at Bakhmut and commanded the first squad of the 4th Platoon of the 7th Assault Battalion, Medvedev told the British newspaper on December 20, adding that he had been hiding in Russia since leaving his Wagner unit in July . Medvedev also said that his unit consisted mainly of ex-convicts who were sent to the front as cannon fodder.
Prisoners are used as cannon fodder, as meat. I was assigned to a group of inmates. Only three men out of 30 survived on my platoon, he explained again. We then got more prisoners, and many of them died. Medvedev also said he knew of at least 10 murders of disobedient Wagner soldiers and had personally witnessed some executions. The commanders took them to a shooting range and were shot in front of everyone. Sometimes a boy was shot, sometimes they were killed in pairs, he said. Then Medvedev decides to defect, it’s the beginning of July. But his contract was repeatedly extended by Wagner without his consent.
Medvedev also claimed to have had under his command Yevgeny Nuzhin, a convicted assassin recruited by Wagner who surrendered to Ukrainian forces but was later handed over to Russia and executed. At the time, Prigozhin issued a statement saying that the clip showing Nuzhin killed by a club hit to the head should be titled “A dog receives a dog’s death.” I feared my fate might be the same as Nuzhin’s. I’m afraid for my life, Medvedev said in December while hiding in Russia.
Medvedev also stated that he was ready to tell everything he knew about the Wagner group, its activities and Prigozhin. In a statement published on his social media channels on Monday, Prigozhin confirmed that Medevev was a former Wagner soldier. The human rights group Gulagu.net, which has been in contact with Medvedev since his trip to Norway, also published an interview with Medvedev in which he describes his dramatic escape. When I was on the ice at the border, I heard dogs barking, turned around, saw people with flashlights running in my direction about 150 meters away, Medvedev explains in a video. I heard two shots, bullets flew.
Medvedev’s Norwegian lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, told the BBC Medvedev was arrested in Oslo, where he is accused of entering the country illegally. But Risnes added that his client is no longer in custody but is in a safe place while his case is being reviewed. If he is granted asylum in Norway, the illegal entry fee will be automatically dropped, Risnes explained. He is willing to speak to those investigating war crimes about his experience in the Wagner group, the attorney added.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian police unit investigating war crimes agrees to speak to the Russian asylum seeker. The Norwegian National Criminal Service, which is involved with the International Criminal Court in investigations into war crimes in Ukraine, said it is in contact with Andrei Medvedev and his Norwegian lawyer and plans to interrogate him shortly. Medvedev has witness status.
January 17, 2023 (change January 17, 2023 | 16:29)
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