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A former commander successful the Russian mercenary Wagner Group is seeking asylum successful Norway, authorities determination said.
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration told the Associated Press connected Monday that the man, whom it identified arsenic Andrey Medvedev, had arrived successful Norway but declined to remark further, citing information and privateness reasons.
Medvedev’s Norwegian lawyer besides told the AP that his lawsuit is seeking asylum successful the country. The lawyer did not respond to a Washington Post petition for remark Monday night.
Last week, constabulary said an individual, whom they identified lone arsenic a overseas national, was arrested aft illegally crossing into Norway from Russia aboriginal Friday. The 2 countries stock a 123-mile-long border.
Reuters, citing the Russian quality rights enactment Gulagu Net, reported that Medvedev fled the Wagner Group aft witnessing its seizure and execution of members who deserted the group.
The shadowy Wagner Group was founded by concern enforcement Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who, until Russia launched the Ukraine war, had denied immoderate connection to the group. Prigozhin is simply a adjacent subordinate of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. Wagner has been accused of carrying retired atrocities successful countries including Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali.
According to U.S. assessments, Wagner has deployed 50,000 fighters successful Ukraine — 40,000 of them convicts recruited straight from Russian prisons with the connection of a pardon successful speech for six months’ service. It is unclear however Medvedev joined the group.
Earlier this month, a subordinate of Russia’s Human Rights Council said Putin had secretly pardoned dozens of convicts earlier they were deployed to Ukraine.
This is not the archetypal study of a Wagner subordinate fleeing the group. Last year, Yevgeny Nuzhin, a 55-year-old execution convict who was released from situation to combat successful Ukraine, gave interviews aft defecting to Ukrainian forces.
In November, however, an unverified video was shared connected a Wagner-linked Telegram relationship appearing to amusement his brutal sidesplitting with a sledgehammer. It was not wide who carried retired the purported execution oregon when, but a Ukrainian statesmanlike adviser was quoted arsenic saying that Nuzhin had agreed to instrumentality to Russia voluntarily. According to Medvedev’s statements to Gulagu Net, quoted by Reuters, Nuzhin had been a subordinate of his unit.
Norway, a NATO member, says it has provided hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian and subject enactment to Kyiv since the Russian penetration was launched astir a twelvemonth ago.
Last year, Norwegian authorities arrested astatine slightest 7 Russians for flying drones oregon taking pictures adjacent delicate areas. Among those arrested was a lad of a adjacent subordinate of Putin’s.
War successful Ukraine: What you request to know
The latest: Russia claimed Friday to person seized power of Soledar, a heavy contested salt-mining municipality successful eastbound Ukraine wherever warring has raged successful caller days, but a Ukrainian subject authoritative maintained that the conflict was not yet over.
Russia’s Gamble: The Post examined the road to warfare successful Ukraine, and Western efforts to unite to thwart the Kremlin’s plans, done extended interviews with much than 3 twelve elder U.S., Ukrainian, European and NATO officials.
Photos: Washington Post photographers person been connected the crushed from the opening of the warfare — here’s immoderate of their astir almighty work.
How you tin help: Here are ways those successful the U.S. tin support the Ukrainian people arsenic good arsenic what radical astir the satellite person been donating.
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Understanding the Russia-Ukraine conflict
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