The leader of the mercenaries of the Wagner group, who are fighting in Ukraine alongside the Russian army, commented on Sunday on the alleged execution, with a sledgehammer to the head, of one of his ex-members accused of desertion.
Telegram accounts close to Wagner posted a video showing a man, his skull taped to a block of stone, being hit in the head with a club. According to these sources, it would be a soldier of the group who deliberately surrendered to the Ukrainian army, but was then recaptured by the Russians.
“In this show, we see that (this man) did not find happiness in Ukraine, but met unkind but fair people“, commented Evguéni Prigojine, the head of Wagner, quoted Sunday by his press service.
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“It’s a magnificent work of realization, it can be seen in one go. I hope no animals were harmed during the filmingadded Prigozhin.
AFP was unable to confirm the authenticity of this video, nor its authors.
Since 2014, mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been accused of serving the interests of Vladimir Putin’s regime in numerous conflict zones, ranging from Syria to Ukraine, via Africa and South America.
In recent months, the group has been actively operating on the Ukrainian front, in support of the Russian army. He is accused of having toured prisons in Russia to recruit prisoners to fight, in exchange for reduced sentences.
In September, 61-year-old Yevgeny Prigojine admitted having founded the paramilitary organization after years of denial. This week, he also boasted of having carried out electoral influence operations in the United States.
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