Published on 06/03/2023 20:49
Video length: 3 mins
FRANCE 2 articles written by
A. Vahramian, S. Yassine, P. Miette, P. Yurov – France 2
France TV
On the ground, Ukrainian soldiers collide with Wagner’s militiamen. A team from France Télévisions exceptionally managed to meet one of these men who was recruited in a Russian prison and captured in Bakhmout.
It is one of his guards who takes the prisoner. His dungeon, a small windowless room, is in an apartment building. The prisoner is just 27 years old and Russian. A Ukrainian soldier is present during the interview. Three days after his arrival at the front he was captured in Bakhmout (Ukraine). “There were 93 men in my company. I saw it on the battlefield: half of them died,” he says.
A forgiveness
He says he was captured in prison. He was serving a ten-year sentence for drug trafficking and aiding and abetting murder when he saw militia leader Wagner arrive. “He arrived by helicopter. (…) He was the only one who carried a gun, while the guards, the prison employees, only have sticks,” he says. Wagner is offering 100,000 rubles or 1,200 euros a month for the fight in Ukraine. “I was tired of being in prison. I signed for six months. I’m fighting for six months and have a reduced sentence adds.
After 21 days of training, he went to the front. He says he doesn’t have enough food and no orders. “They didn’t care if we came back or not, if we survived or not,” the soldier said. He could now be exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers. He claims he has no thoughts of “staying alive” should he return to Russia.
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