Ex Wagner commander describes brutality and incompetence

• A former Wagner mercenary has spoken out about his time fighting in Ukraine.
• Andrei Medvedev says he witnessed the brutal treatment of unwilling recruits.
• He describes Yevgeny Prigozhin as “the devil”.

A former Wagner mercenary claimed that the cruelty he experienced in Ukraine was what ultimately motivated him to desert.

Andrei that Wagner soldiers were frequently pushed into battle with minimal guidance and that the company’s treatment of unwilling recruits was brutal.

“They would round up those who did not want to fight and shoot them in front of newcomers,” he alleges. “They brought two prisoners who refused to go fight and they shot them in front of everyone and buried them right in the trenches that were dug by the trainees.”

The 26-year-old joined Wagner as a volunteer and claims to have previously served in the Russian military.

Less than ten days after committing to his service in July 2022, he travelled into Ukraine to serve close to Bakhmut, the frontline city in the Donetsk region.

The mercenary organization has become an important participant in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitry Utkin and Russian millionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group’s founders, are who Medvedev claimed he directly reported to.

He refers to Prigozhin as “the devil.” If he was a Russian hero, he would have taken a gun and run with the soldiers,” Medvedev said.

Prigozhin has previously confirmed that Medvedev had served in his company, and said that he “should have been prosecuted for attempting to mistreat prisoners.”

Medvedev told reputed media outlet that he did not want to comment on what he’d done himself while fighting in Ukraine.

Wagner lacked a tactical strategy, with troops coming up with plans on the fly, Medvedev said.

When asked if he worries about what happened to another Wagner defector, Yevgeny Nuzhin, who was killed with a sledgehammer in front of the camera, Medvedev responded that Nuzhin’s passing gave him the confidence to go.

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