As of: 01/16/2023 7:49 p.m
A suspected ex-member of the Russian mercenary group Wagner has applied for asylum in Norway. According to his lawyer, the man fled across the border at the end of last week. He apparently wants to talk about his experiences with the group.
A suspected deserter from the Russian mercenary group Wagner has fled across the border to Norway and is seeking asylum there. 26-year-old Andrei Medvedev crossed the border in northern Norway at the end of last week, his lawyer said. Medvedev is likely to be a former high-ranking functionary of the Wagner group.
The Norwegian immigration authority UDI confirmed to the AP news agency that Medvedev had applied for asylum. She did not want to give any further details. A police spokesman said a man was arrested on Friday night for illegally crossing the border and had applied for asylum.
Apparently a witness to executions and punishments
Medvedev’s lawyer Brynyulf Risnes told AFP that after crossing the border, the young man approached local residents and asked them to call the police. He is now in a “safe place” while his case is being reviewed.
In his own words, Medvedev wanted to “speak to people investigating war crimes about his experiences with the Wagner group.” The 26-year-old stated that he had led a unit of five to ten soldiers in the mercenary force.
According to the human rights organization Gulagu.net, Medvedev initially signed up for four months in July 2022 and was sent to Ukraine for combat. In the mercenary unit, he witnessed the executions and punishments of mercenaries who refused to fight or wanted to leave the unit.
Contract extended without consent
According to his lawyer, Medvedev’s contract with Wagner was renewed without his consent. “He realized there was no easy way out, so he decided to run,” Risnes said.
The fighters of the Wagner group are currently engaged in the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Before the Ukraine war, Wagner mercenaries had already been sighted in Syria, Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.