OSLO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway has spoken about how he witnessed some of his comrades being shot as they were trying to flee from the frontline in Ukraine, his Norwegian lawyer told Reuters.
Andrei Medvedev, who fled from Russia by crossing the Russian-Norwegian border on Jan. 13, has said he fears for his life after witnessing what he said was the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners taken to Ukraine to fight for Wagner.
Medvedev is living in a secret location in the Oslo area after he was released from detention on Wednesday following a "disagreement" with the police about measures taken to ensure his safety.
The Russian was "slowly coming to terms with what's happening", his lawyer said.
"His life has been chaotic and dangerous and very stressful for a very long time," Risnes said, "particularly, of course, during the autumn when he was in Ukraine with the Wagner group."
"But of course, his life hasn't been easy before that either."
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, millions uprooted and cities reduced to rubble since Russian forces invaded Ukraine 11 months ago.
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday formally designated Russian private military company the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization, freezing its U.S. assets for helping Russia's military in the Ukraine war.
Last month the White House said the Wagner Group had taken delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine, in a sign of the group's expanding role in that conflict.
No comments:
Post a Comment