Russian mercenaries report fleeing to Norway after witnessing war crimes

Matt Murphy From BBC News

Posted on 01/18/2023 13:29

(Image credit: Gulagu)

As Andrei Medvedev walked toward the remote RussianNorwegian border, he says he heard attack dogs barking behind him.

That meant the men chasing him were getting closer and closer. But the border and the western world were within reach.

Two months earlier, the 26yearold said he defected from the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries. He was about to become the first Wagner defector.

It is not possible to independently verify information about his flight from Russia to Norway.

Founded in 2014, the Wagner Group is led by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. The group is believed to make up around 10% of Russian forces in Ukraine. The group has already conducted operations in Syria, Libya and Mali.

The group is known internationally for their often inhuman methods. However, little is known about how the group works and how it is funded. Medvedev’s escape could help American and European intelligence officials understand these details.

It is not clear why Medvedev chose Norway as his destination. The frozen tundra that serves as the border between Russia and NATO is one of the most heavily protected in the world.

The watchtowers have powerful searchlights to break through the arctic winter gloom. Teams from both sides conduct frequent patrols.

But in a video released by Russian human rights group Gulagu.net, the former commander of the Wagner claims he managed to get past those tall surveillance towers. As he ran, he claims, the Russian soldiers chasing him got closer.

On Friday (18 January) around 02:00 local time, Medvedev said he had climbed over the barbed wire protecting the Norwegian side of the border.

As he climbed, he said he heard dogs behind him. And when the headlights finally caught him, he said he heard Russian bullets whizzing past him.

After climbing over the wire, Medvedev ran towards a forest hoping to find someone who could help him.

Medvedev says he saw lights from a small village in the distance about two kilometers away.

He claims he was too scared to look back because maybe the dogs chasing him had also gone through the wire.

Medvedev knocked on the first door he came to. After asking residents in English to call the authorities, he was arrested by Norwegian border guards.

His journey from serving as a soldier in Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine to finding relative safety in Western Europe was over.

BBC City on the NorwayRussia border crossed by Andrey Medvedev

Before his experience in Ukraine, Medvedev led a fairly ordinary life.

After a brief service in the Russian army mandatory for almost all 18yearolds he was briefly jailed around 2017, Gulagu.net founder Vladimir Osechkin told the BBC. His crime is unknown, although there are reports that it was theft.

But it was Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine that changed his life.

As Russia’s difficulties mounted, the Wagner group began recruiting in large numbers.

Medvedev signed a fourmonth contract from July 6 to November 6, probably lured by the prospect of a stable salary. Wagner recruits are paid around US$10,000 (R$50,000) a month, much more than the normal salary in Russia.

Medvedev had military experience and was appointed commander of the unit in the eastern Donbass region.

Osechkin told the BBC the Wagner group provides Medvedev with around 30 to 40 soldiers a week, many of them recruited from Russian prisons.

Many of the fiercest fightings of the past six months have taken place in Donbass. It is believed that Wagner was involved in two of the bloodiest battles at Soledar and Bakhmut.

Medvedev’s lawyer in Norway, Brynjulf ​​Risnes, told the BBC Medvedev witnessed a series of war crimes including the Wagner Group’s internal security service “executing deserters”.

Osechkin said Medvedev decided to leave Wagner after witnessing the group’s “terrorist methods”.

“He told me what he saw in the war and how the Wagner Group’s special forces are killing Russians who don’t want to fight Ukraine.”

In November 2022, Medvedev was informed that despite fulfilling their fourmonth contract, the group had unilaterally decided to extend their service. How long was not clear.

This seems to have been the last straw. “He felt betrayed and wanted to leave the group as soon as possible,” Risnes told the BBC.

Getty Images Norwegian soldiers patrol along the heavily guarded Russian border

After fleeing Ukraine and returning to Russia, Medvedev went to a Wagner Group recruitment center in St. Petersburg and returned his dog tag. This seems to have caught the group’s attention.

“When he left the Wagner group, Wagner’s security office did a lot to find him and his life was in danger,” Osechkin said.

When security agents searched for him, Medvedev was forced into hiding to avoid the treatment reserved for defectors in Ukraine.

He then asked Gulagu.net a human rights organization in exile for help.

“When his life was in danger, his friend wrote a letter to Gulagu and me to help save Andrey’s life,” says Osechkin. “We are working to help you leave Russia.”

After attempting to cross the Finnish border twice, Medvedev traveled to the far north of Russia and crossed the Norwegian border.

When the news broke on Monday (16/01), the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, released a sarcastic statement claiming that Medvedev is a Norwegian citizen heading a nonexistent entity from Scandinavia.

A passport photo of Medvedev seen by the BBC shows that he is in fact a Russian citizen, born in a village in the central Tomsk province.

Medvedev’s lawyer told the BBC it was possible the former mercenary had evidence of war crimes and that he could share this information with war crimes investigative groups.

Medvedev’s testimony could be important to anyone investigating war crimes, and Western spies are likely eager to speak to the former mercenary.

Their experiences and participation in the bloody invasion of Russia could help shed light on the group’s operations around the world.

But for the time being, Medvedev remains in detention in the Oslo region, awaiting the outcome of his asylum application. Far from the conflict that changed his life and made his name headlines in world newspapers.

This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional64315971