CNN
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A former commander in Russia’s Wagner non-public army firm has fled to Norway and is searching for asylum after crossing that nation’s arctic border, in accordance to Norwegian police and a Russian activist.
Andrei Medvedev, in an interview with a Russian activist who helps individuals search asylum overseas, stated that he feared for his life after refusing to renew his service with Wagner.
Medvedev stated that after finishing his contract, and refusing to serve one other, he was afraid of being executed in the identical method of Yevgeny Nuzhin – a defector from Wagner who was killed on digital camera with a sledgehammer.
“We were just thrown to fight like cannon fodder,” he instructed Vladimir Osechkin, head of Gulagu.web, a human rights advocacy group, in a dialog revealed on YouTube.
A spokesperson for Norway’s Police Security Service confirmed to CNN Monday that Medvedev was in Norway and searching for asylum.
“This is so far a local police investigation,” Eirik Veum instructed CNN. “But the Security Service, we are informed, and follow the investigation of course.”
The mercenary group, headed by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has emerged as a key player in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – just lately doing a lot of the preventing within the small japanese city of Soledar.
The group is commonly described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s off-the-books troops. It has expanded its footprint globally since its creation in 2014, and has been accused of struggle crimes in Africa, Syria and Ukraine.
Medvedev stated that he crossed the border close to the Russian city of Nikel, in a telephone name from Norway with Osechkin, which was revealed on-line.
The account aligns with that of the Finnmark Police District, who with out naming Medvedev, stated that it made an “undramatic” arrest of a person in Pasvik on the Norwegian facet of the border at 1.58 a.m. on Friday, January 13.
In his personal account, Medvedev stated that he crossed the border and approached the primary home he might discover.
“I told a local woman in broken English about my situation and asked for help,” he instructed Osechkin within the telephone name. “While I was on the road, I was approached by the border force and police. I was taken to a department, where I was questioned and charged with illegal crossing. I explained to them everything and told them why I did it.”
“It was a miracle I managed to get here,” he stated.
Medvedev had beforehand tried to cross into Finland twice and failed, Osechkin instructed CNN Monday.
The head of Wagner, Prigozhin, confirmed on Telegram Monday that Medvedev had served in his firm, and stated that he “should have been prosecuted for attempting to mistreat prisoners.”
In a December dialog with Osechkin, which was revealed on YouTube, Medvedev denied that he had dedicated any crimes in Ukraine.
“I signed a contract with the group on the 6th of July 2022. I had been appointed commander of the first squad of the 4th platoon of the 7th assault detachment,” he recalled. “When the prisoners started arriving, the situation in Wagner really changed. They stopped treating us like humans. We were just thrown to fight like cannon fodder.”
“Every week they sent more prisoners to us. We lost a lot of men. Casualties were high. We would lose 15 to 20 men just in our platoon. As far as I know, a majority of them were buried in LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] and declared missing. If you are declared missing, there is no insurance pay-out to the relatives.”
He claimed that prisoners have been “shot dead for refusing to fight, or betrayal.”
“I am afraid for my life,” he stated in December. “I did not commit any crime. I have refused to participate in maneuvers of Yevgeny Prigozhin.”
Osechkin instructed CNN Monday that he started serving to Medvedev after being approached by a buddy on the finish of November.
Prigozhin, he defined, had ordered all contracts to be mechanically renewed beginning in November. When Medvedev refused to renew, he was overwhelmed, Osechkin claimed.
“Andrei decided to leave Wagner,” Osechkin instructed CNN. “Once this happened, he became wanted by security services of Wagner and Russian special services. There was a threat to his life.”
“He was afraid he will be executed in the same manner as Yevgeny Nuzhin – with a sledgehammer. We, as human-rights defenders, decided to help him and protect his life.”
Osechkin stated that he helped Medvedev with groceries, garments, and a phone.
“We are not trying to justify his actions in relation to his participation in Wagner Group. But it should be understood that he decided to flee Wagner Group as terrorist organization which kills both Russians and Ukrainians.”
