Andrei Medvedev, the former Wagner Group mercenary who defected and sought asylum in Norway, told CNN in an exclusive interview from Oslo about the brutality he witnessed in Ukraine. He explained that Wagner fighters were often sent into battle with little guidance and the treatment of reluctant recruits was ruthless.
They rounded up those who didn’t want to fight and shot them in front of the newcomers, he revealed. For example, they brought two prisoners who refused to go into battle and shot them in front of everyone, and then buried them in trenches dug by the recruits. The 26-year-old, who claims to have previously served in the Russian military, came to Wagner as a volunteer. He entered Ukraine less than 10 days after signing his contract in July 2022 and served near Bakhmut, the frontline city in Donetsk.
Medvedev spoke to CNN from Oslo after crossing the border in a daring robbery in which he said he had to evade arrest and dodge bullets from Russian forces at least 10 times. In his opinion, the Wagner group lacked a strategy: there were no real tactics. We only received instructions on the opponent’s position, but no specific instructions on how to behave. We planned the further procedure step by step.