Ex-Wagner commander witnessed comrades shot for fleeing, says his Norwegian lawyer

By Ilze Filks

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.

His lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters that Medvedev had
seen some “incredibly horrible” situations while he was
fighting with Wagner last autumn.

He had witnessed “the shooting of his comrades while he was
watching because they tried to flee,” Risnes said in an
interview, citing Medvedev.

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.

Kripos, Norway’s national criminal police service, which has
responsibility for investigating war crimes, has begun
questioning him about his experiences in Ukraine and would
continue to do so, Risnes said.

Kripos is part of a project to investigate war crimes in
Ukraine conducted by the International Criminal Court.

Other groups like the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the
Clooney Foundation were also interested in talking to Medvedev,
his lawyer said.

“One main thing will be to coordinate so we don’t have to
ask all the questions five or ten times,” Risnes said.
(Reporting by Ilze Filks; Writing by Gwladys Fouche; editing by
Grant McCool)