Until recently, Andrey Medvedev was a unit commander in the Wagner Group, the Russian private military company that has served as shock troops in the war in Ukraine. Now, he's speaking out against the group he says is committing war crimes.
But since Russia invaded Ukraine, Wagner has swelled dramatically. It has acted as an army within an army, known for its pitiless methods, including sending waves of convicts into battle, according to Ukrainian troops on the ground. They have become particularly prominent in the battle for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, in January giving Russia its first notable battlefield advance in months when they seized the nearby town of Soledar.
"I realized practically on the first day what was happening there. I understood what role Russia was playing on that territory," he said. After four months, he said he found a chance to escape. Going on the run, he said he spent two months hiding in Russia, moving between safe houses and being pursued by Wagner's security service. He was aided, he said, by a Russian human rights activist based in France who has helped other defectors.
Medvedev said he believed Wagner might try to harm him in Norway. A videos posted online last year appeared to show Wagner contractors
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