A former Wagner Group mercenary claims he killed and tortured dozens of Ukrainian POWs. This is what the British newspaper The Guardian reports from the mouth of a Russian ex-convict who fought for Wagner. “We were told not to take any prisoners, just to shoot them on the spot.” Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin calls the testimony “flagrant lies”.
The Guardian spoke to 49-year-old Alexey Savichev, a Russian ex-convict who was recruited by the Wagner Group to fight in Ukraine last September. According to Savichev, who fought in eastern Ukraine for six months, he and his colleagues were ordered not to take prisoners of war and to shoot them on the spot.
‘We also tortured soldiers, there were no rules’
Executions
Savichev said he took part in the summary execution of 20 Ukrainian POWs during fighting near the eastern Ukrainian city of Soledar last fall. Savichev, who was jailed for murder, says in the interview that he has no regrets: ‘We riddled them with bullets. It’s war and I don’t regret what I did there. If I could I would go back.’ Savichev also confessed that he and several other Wagner mercenaries killed wounded POWs with hand grenades in a ditch near Bachmoet in January.
The Guardian writes that it cannot independently verify Savichev’s claims, but it has Russian criminal documents showing that Savichev, who was a convicted murderer, was released from a prison in Voronezh on Sept. 12 with a presidential pardon. Savichev is one of tens of thousands of Russian prisoners who regained their freedom fighting for the Wagner group for six months.
Assassins
According to Savichev, he joined Wagner last September after Prigozhin visited his penal colony to recruit soldiers. “Prigozhin came to our prison and said that he was looking for murderers. He said the regular army was full of wimps who couldn’t get the job done.” Savichev said he was recruited by Wagner despite his HIV diagnosis. Where the regular Russian army is off limits to people with diseases serious, Wagner doesn’t care.”They don’t care if you have HIV or hepatitis, as long as you can kill,” Prigozhin is quoted as saying.
“Looking for Killers”
Savichev’s testimony is another in an ever-growing pile of evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine that is being investigated by Ukraine’s Justice Ministry and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Since giving his first interview on Monday, Savichev says he’s on the run and has already received several threats. Savichev said he feared the same fate if Yevgeny Nuzhin, a convicted assassin recruited by Wagner, surrendered to Ukrainian forces, was later extradited to Russia and executed. “I was with Wagner, and I know what they do with those who talk,” Savichev said.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
