Two Ukrainian soldiers told CNN International about the horrors they witnessed in a candlelit bunker southwest of the town of Bakhmut. For several weeks, Andriy and Borisych faced hundreds of fighters from the Wagner Group, a powerful mercenary group deployed in support of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the current stage of the invasion of Ukraine. The militia is also active elsewhere, most notably in Africa and Syria.
Disguised in a ski mask, Andriy told CNN what appeared to be an endless firefight when they were attacked by Wagner Group soldiers. “We fought for about ten hours at a time. They didn’t come in waves, but in a single endless front,” said the Ukrainian soldier. “There were about 20 soldiers on our side. And about 200 on the other side.”
Wagner’s strategy is to send in a first wave of fighters, composed mostly of inexperienced recruits pulled from Russian prisons, in exchange for a possible pardon of their sentences. They know little about military tactics and are poorly equipped. Most just hope that if they survive their sixmonth contract, they can go home instead of going back to a cell.
Only when the first wave is exhausted or reduced does the Wagner group send more experienced fighters, often from the flanks, in an attempt to overrun the Ukrainian positions.
Andriy says that facing the attack was a terrifying and unreal experience. “Our sniper almost went mad shooting at the Russians. And even hit, they didn’t fall. And then after a while, maybe because of the blood loss it just falls off.”
Andriy compares the fight to a scene from a zombie movie. “They climb over the corpses of their comrades, step on them,” says the soldier. “It looks like it’s very, very likely they were on drugs before the attack.”
Andriy’s account of the Wagner group’s tactics matches a Ukrainian intelligence report obtained by CNN. According to this account, if Wagner’s forces manage to position themselves, they can use artillery support to dig trenches and consolidate their conquests. According to Ukrainian wiretapping, there is often a lack of coordination between Wagner and the Russian army.
According to CNN, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, said his militia is an “exemplary military organization that adheres to all the necessary laws and regulations” of modern warfare.
Andriy’s unit says they have captured a Wagner Group fighter whose story is as tragic as his tactics are primitive and brutal. According to a record of the interviewee, the man is an engineer but sold drugs to make some money. He volunteered to join the group, believing it would eliminate his criminal record so his daughter would have less trouble pursuing her dream of becoming a lawyer.
Andriy, who hails from the city of Odessa and joined just days after the Russian invasion, says no matter how many more fighters are sent to raid their positions, they will resist. “Most of my boys are volunteers. They had (a) good business, they had (a) good job, they had a good salary, but they came to fight for the country. And that makes a big difference,” he says.
“This is the war for freedom. It’s not even the war between Ukraine and Russia. This is a war between dictatorship and democracy.”