Former Wagner commander says he is sorry for fighting in Ukraine - Reuters

OSLO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A erstwhile commandant of Russia's Wagner mercenary radical who fled to Norway told Reuters helium wanted to apologise for warring successful Ukraine and was speaking retired to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.

Andrei Medvedev, who crossed the Russian-Norwegian borderline connected Jan. 13, said helium witnessed the sidesplitting and mistreatment by Wagner of Russian convicts taken to Ukraine to combat for the group.

"Many see maine to beryllium a scoundrel, a criminal, a murderer," Medvedev, 26, said successful an interview. "First of all, repeatedly, and again, I would similar to apologise, and though I don't cognize however it would beryllium received, I privation to accidental I'm sorry.

"Yes, I served successful Wagner. There are immoderate moments (in my story) that radical don't like, that I joined them astatine all, but cipher is calved smart."

Medvedev added helium had decided to talk retired "to assistance to guarantee that perpetrators are punished successful definite cases, and I volition effort to marque my contribution, astatine slightest a tiny bit".

He cited 1 incidental successful which helium said helium witnessed 2 radical who did not privation to combat being changeable dormant successful beforehand of recently released convicts who had been enrolled successful Wagner.

Asked astir different incidents helium witnessed, helium said helium could not remark connected them astatine this signifier arsenic a Norwegian constabulary probe astir warfare crimes was ongoing.

Reuters was not instantly capable to verify his claims.

Kripos, Norway's nationalist transgression constabulary service, which has work for investigating warfare crimes, has begun questioning Medvedev astir his experiences successful Ukraine.

He has a presumption arsenic a witnesser and is not suspected of thing isolated from the amerciable borderline crossing. Medvedev said helium had thing to fell from the police, adding "I did not perpetrate immoderate crimes, I was conscionable a combatant".

The Wagner radical said Medvedev had worked successful a "Norwegian unit" of Wagner and had "mistreated prisoners".

"Be careful, he's precise dangerous," the radical said successful an emailed connection to Reuters, reiterating erstwhile comments made by its laminitis Yevgeny Prigozhin, a adjacent state of Russian President Vladimir Putin, astir Medvedev.

SCARED

Wagner forces person been locked successful a bloody conflict of attrition against Ukrainian forces successful Ukraine's eastbound Donetsk region.

At Wagner, Medvedev said helium led a squad, taking orders from a platoon commandant and readying combat missions. He said helium saw "acts of courageousness from some sides".

Medvedev said helium was frightened that helium could beryllium executed by idiosyncratic connected his ain broadside astatine immoderate time.

"The scariest thing? To realise that determination are radical who see themselves to beryllium your compatriots, and who could travel and termination you successful an instant, oregon connected someone's orders," helium said. "Your ain people. That astir apt was the scariest thing."

Medvedev near Wagner astatine the extremity of his four-month contract, adjacent though his superiors told him helium had to service longer, helium said.

Medvedev said helium fled Russia past period implicit the Arctic border, climbing done barbed-wire fences and evading a borderline patrol with dogs, proceeding Russian guards firing shots arsenic helium ran done a wood and implicit the frozen stream that separates the 2 countries.

FROM ORPHAN TO JOINING WAGNER

Medvedev was calved successful the portion of Tomsk successful Siberia. He said helium was placed successful an orphanage erstwhile helium was astir property 12, aft the decease of his parent and the disappearance of his father.

He said helium was drafted successful the Russian subject successful 2014, aged 18, and served with the Ulyanovsk-based 31st Airborne Brigade.

"That was my archetypal deployment successful Donbas," Medvedev added, declining to springiness much details.

The struggle successful eastbound Ukraine began successful 2014 aft a pro-Russian president was toppled successful Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, portion Russian-backed separatists successful the Donbas - comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk - sought to interruption distant from Kyiv's control.

Medvedev said helium had served respective jailhouse terms, including 1 for a robbery, and erstwhile helium came retired of situation the past time, helium decided to articulation the Wagner group, successful July 2022.

Medvedev said helium hadn't been recruited consecutive retired of the prison, but decided to articulation due to the fact that helium realised helium would apt beryllium mobilised successful the regular Russian equipped forces anyway.

He signed a four-month declaration for a monthly wage of immoderate 250,000 roubles ($3,575). He crossed into Ukraine connected July 16, helium said, and fought adjacent Bakhmut.

"It was fucked up. The roads to Artemovsk were littered with the corpses of our soldiers," helium said, utilizing the Russian spot sanction for Bakhmut. "The losses were heavy. ... I saw galore friends die."

A special report published by Reuters past week recovered a graveyard successful confederate Russia, burial tract for men who were convicts who had been recruited by Wagner to combat successful Ukraine.

($1 = 69.9305 roubles)

Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, Janis Laizans and Gwladys Fouche successful Oslo Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Leslie Adler and Frances Kerry

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