One of the men has since retracted the confession, but possibly under duress.
Two Russian men posing as former Wagner soldiers tell a Russian human rights organization that they killed children and civilians in Ukraine. The statements were published by the human rights organization Gulagu.net.
Among other things, the news covered the matter news channel CNN (you will switch to another service). One of the men has since retracted his statement in an interview with a Russian TV channel.
In previous video interviews, two ex-prisoners recruited to Wagner tell about the events to the founder of the Gulag To Vladimir Osetshin. According to Gulag, the men were in Russia during the interview.
The orders the Wagner men received were extremely brutal
One of the men says, for example, that the Wagner soldiers in Soledar and Bahmut have been ordered to “kill everyone”. He also says that he killed a five or six-year-old girl.
– I was ordered to kill all the people in my way, he told Gulagu.
One of the men says, among other things, that the soldiers have been ordered to kill all men over the age of 15. According to him, soldiers who did not follow the order were killed.
The authenticity of the video IDs has not been confirmed
CNN has not been able to confirm the men’s accounts or identities. However, CNN has confirmed that both were released from prison under a presidential pardon in the fall of 2022.
Another of the men is later has withdrawn his statement (you will switch to another service) Wagner Director to Yevgen Prigozhin in the linked RIA-FAN media. He says he was drunk at the time of the interview and claims that Osetšin forced him to tell the things he said in the interview by blackmailing him.
According to Osetshin, Wagner has threatened to kill both men if they do not retract the statements they made in the interviews.
Prigozhin denies allegations of killing civilians. Prigozhin has demanded on his Telegram channel that one of the men contact Wagner.
Gulag’s Vladimir Osetshin says he still stands behind the confession videos. He points out that voices critical of the war of aggression are usually silenced immediately in Russia.