Ex-Commander of Russia's Wagner who took asylum in Oslo apologises for Ukraine war

Russia's shadowy mercenaries group PMC Wagner's former commander, who took asylum in Norway, on February 2 expressed his anti-war views condemning Russia's offensive in Ukraine. The notorious mercenary paramilitary company's ex-commander, Andrei Medvedev, apologised for fighting in Ukraine, alleging that he has been exposed to hate for speaking up against the ongoing war. 

Medvedev was reported saying "sorry" for the atrocities inflicted on the Ukrainian territory, adding that he was "unsure" about how his apology would be met. Wagner, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin also known as Putin's chef, spearheaded Ukraine's eastern offensive with house-to-house combat leading to the bloodiest encounters. Wagner fighters were also filmed using sledgehammers to execute the defectors who abandoned the war. The ex-Wagner commander revealed the atrocities he witnessed whilst serving in the mercenaries group, as he said that the fighters carried out double execution at a Wagner center on those who fled with weapons or refused to fight. 

“There was a case when they brought two prisoners who refused to fight and they shot them in front of others for refusing to follow orders,” Medvedev said from Norway, in a statement to Moscow Times.

“There were a lot of such cases.” 

Ex-Wagner commander says 'not that person'

Acknowledging that he served in Wagner PMC, ex-commander of Wagner Medvedev claimed that he "is not that person" who took arms against Ukraine and that he wasn't born smart or made the right decisions. The Wagner fighter also added that he has been involved in acts during his time serving the Wagner that most people "would not like." Before he fled to the Arctic border, the 26-year-old Medvedev claimed that he witnessed the mistreatment of the Wagner fighters. Born in Tomsk, Siberia, the former Wagner commander had fled the mercenary group, crossing rivers and into Oslo, where he was granted asylum. He had struck a contract to fight in the Ukraine war for over four months and was paid a salary of about 250,000 roubles. In his earlier statement to the agencies, Wagner commander had claimed that the streets of Artemovsk were littered with the corpses of Wagner fighters. 

The United States, last week, designated Wagner as a “significant transnational criminal organisation” after the mercenary group captured the salt mine city of Soledar near Bakhmut. Wagner fighters have been heavily involved in Russian efforts to capture the city of Bakhmut and have been responsible for war crimes, the US noted. White House national security council spokesman, John Kirby told a White House briefing, "The treasury will apply the new designation in the coming days, putting it in the same category as Italian mafia groups and Japanese and Russian organised crimes." “We will work relentlessly to identify, disrupt, expose and target those who are assisting Wagner,” he added.