Commander Wagner was an asylum seeker in Norway after fleeing Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner who fought in Ukraine said he fled to Norway and sought asylum in fear for his life after witnessing the killing and abuse of Russian prisoners. .

Andrei Medvedev, who joined the team on July 6, 2022, on a four-month contract, said in a video posted by Gulagu.net officials that he crossed the Norwegian border before being arrested by Norwegian police. Medvedev, an orphan who joined the Russian army and served time in prison before joining Wagner, said he fled the group after witnessing the massacre of Wagner's captured fugitives.

"I'm afraid to die in pain," Medvedev told Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the rights group Gulagu.net, who said he helped Medvedev leave Russia to approach the group who feared for his life. He said that he crossed the border, climbed a barbed wire and escaped the border patrol dogs, and heard the guards firing as he ran through the thick and dense forest. breaking the ice in Norway.

Norwegian police said a foreigner was arrested overnight from Thursday to Friday after illegally crossing Russia's border with Norway in the Arctic and seeking asylum. The Norwegian prosecutor said that Medvedev is currently in the "Oslo region", but did not give details.

"What is important to him (Medvedev) is that the immigration authorities clarify his situation as soon as possible," lawyer Brynjulf ​​Risnes told Reuters. Medvedev has not spoken to the Norwegian security police and no agreement for an interview has been obtained, Risnes said.

"I'm sure that will be a question at some point," said Risnes, who declined to say where Medvedev is fighting in Ukraine. "He said that he was involved in the war, who, according to military conditions ... and that he did not know that civilians." Runes said. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner, said that Medvedev worked in the Norwegian Wagner branch but "mistreated the prisoners".

"Be careful, it's very dangerous," Prigozhin said in a statement released by his spokesman. Prigozhin did not allege murder or abuse of prisoners in the statement.

In an interview with Gulagu, Medvedev said he was unhappy when Wagner repeatedly extended his contract without his consent. He said he witnessed the killing and ill-treatment of Russian prisoners brought to the fore by Wagner.

Medvedev said that the losses were great when Wagner began to send a large number of prisoners forward in the second half of 2022. Wagner's civil defense forces imposed a severe penalty, Medvedev said.

He said a man who was shown in November to have been shot to death was in his unit. Wagner's statement did not mention Medvedev's history of punishment and losses on the battlefield, or that his contract was repeatedly extended.

Prigozhin said that his members were effective combatants because they had extensive battlefield experience, provided well, had a meritocratic system in which everyone could contribute to "training the hardest”. Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a "special military operation" to "denazify" its neighbor and protect Russian security.