Those who refuse to advance are shot in the back: PMC 'Wagner' fighters spoke honestly about the war in Ukraine

Two former fighters from the Russian private military company Wagner spoke about their horrific experiences on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine and how anyone who hesitated was immediately shot by their own commanders, reports CNN.

Photo: IStock

The Wagner Group is an unofficial armed group often referred to in the media as a Russian private military company (“Wagner PMC”, “Wagner PMC”). It is alleged that since 2014, the group operated in Ukraine, and then in Syria.

Both militants were captured by Ukrainian forces at the end of last year. Their identities are not revealed for their own safety. Both are married with children and were recruited in prison. One was serving a 20-year sentence for manslaughter.

Two fighters recounted horrendous losses in "first wave" attacks reminiscent of World War I attacks.

“There were 90 of us. Sixty people died in that first assault, killed by mortar fire. Several people were left wounded,” said one of them, recalling his first assault near Belogorovka. “If one group fails, another is sent immediately. If the second one fails, they send another group.”

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Another militant participated in a forest assault that lasted five days near the city of Lysichansk on the border of Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

“The first steps in the forest were difficult because of all the laid mines. Of the 10 guys, seven were killed immediately,” he said.

“You cannot help the wounded. The Ukrainians fired heavily at us, so even if their wounds were minor, you must move on, otherwise you will come under fire. You're in this for five days, people were dying right next to me, praying to God, asking for water. You think you can put the weapon down and nothing else will happen. And then 10 minutes later the firefight starts again, and the Ukrainians continue to follow you. Just wave after wave,” says the militant.

“Four hundred Wagner fighters were brought there, and then more and more,” he said.

The prisoner said that his instinct of self-preservation kicked in, but others could not stand it. “Some stop right in the forest and throw down their weapons. But throwing down a weapon means getting under sniper fire and dying,” he said.

He added that there was no evacuation of the wounded. “If you are wounded, then first you will roll back yourself, as best you can, somewhere to neutral territory where there is no fire, and if there is no one around, then you will give yourself first aid,” he said.

According to the men, the victims are in the dozens. “When the wounded arrive, you get an order to load them, and you don’t really think who died and who was injured,” one of the fighters said.

Over the course of several weeks on the front lines, two men said they had only one instinct.

“Just survive. I just had a desire to survive, no matter what the cost,” said a prisoner who participated in the assault.

They are devastated by the losses and killings of Ukrainian soldiers they have encountered. “You would think that you would feel something after killing someone, but no, you just carry on,” the militants say.

The alternative to walking through minefields towards Ukrainian artillery was just as deadly, the men said.

“We couldn’t retreat without an order, because if we didn’t follow the order, we would be killed,” said one of the prisoners.

“One person remained in position, he was very scared, this was his first assault. We received orders to run forward. But the man hid under a tree and refused. This was reported to the command and that was it. He was taken 50 meters from the base. He dug his own grave and then was shot,” said one of the militants.

Another militant reported a similar situation: “Our commander was told that if someone gets scared, he will have to be eliminated. And if we could not eliminate him, we would be eliminated for not being able to eliminate him.

The promise of freedom

Two men told how they were recruited into Wagner. In August and September last year, the group's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, flew by helicopter to the prisons where they were held, offering six-month contracts in exchange for pardons.

One of the men still had 10 years to go in prison after being convicted of manslaughter.

“I weighed that six months is better than 10 or 11 years that I could spend in prison ... I just wanted to start a new life,” he said.

At that time, Prigozhin's recruitment campaign in Russian prisons was in full swing. Western intelligence officials and prison defense groups estimate that between 40 and 000 people were recruited.

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On February 7, Prigozhin announced that the prisoner recruitment campaign had been completed, but did not give reasons.

“Only a handful in my unit came for the money, most came because they have long sentences,” said one of the militants. “But there were those who only had 12 days left, and they went anyway.

“Everyone was lined up in the courtyard, and Prigozhin began recruiting people,” he said. — Prigozhin said that he has the authority from higher authorities to take anyone from prison, regardless of crimes or length of imprisonment. Ideal candidates are murderers, robbers.”

According to one inmate, the selection process was so primitive that older prisoners only had to show they could walk a few meters. “They took almost everyone,” he said.

“Some of them were thugs… crazy, those who, having received weapons in their hands, did not know how to handle them,” he added.

For prisoners who were to serve for many years, the offer was tempting. One of the prisoners said: “For our freedom, we had to fight for six months in Ukraine, fight the Nazis. At the same time, he promised us a salary, repayment of loans and a clean history.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly launched groundless “denazification” rhetoric as justification for his invasion of Ukraine.

Shortly after Prigozhin's visits, hundreds of prisoners were transported by bus and plane to a training ground in Russia's Rostov region, the two men said. According to one of the prisoners, there was a strict ban on drugs and alcohol. Some commanders said they fought on the Wagner side in Africa and Syria.

The training was brief and basic - handling weapons. The men said it was clear they were being groomed for missions they did not sign up for.

Now they are bitter about Prigogine's deception.

“He didn’t say anything about danger,” one said. “He talked about expunging all criminal records, that we would serve six months, all criminal records would be expunged, about an advance payment of about $3300, and also that our task was to keep the defense on the second line.” The two men also feel deceived about the nature of the conflict.

“We thought that we would fight the Poles and various mercenaries, the Germans. We did not think that there was someone left in the Ukrainian army. We thought they had left the country,” one of them said.

“So it became clear that they were simply spinning lies to force us to fight the Ukrainians. No one really thought that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would really fight for their country, for their loved ones. We only found out about it after we entered there,” the prisoner said.
According to the prisoners, being captured was almost a relief.

One said he and a wounded comrade were the only survivors of his group, caught "between two Ukrainian mortars and a sniper."

“The command ordered me to dig in at my position, so I dug in at my position, waiting for evacuation. They sent one group of 10 people, and a sniper killed all 10,” he recalls. “Then the command told us on the radio: get out as best you can, you yourself.”

It was then, according to him, that the Ukrainian soldiers “came up and fired next to my leg, said ‘hands up’ and that’s it.”

When asked if they would make the same decision again, the prisoners fell silent for a moment.

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“I think it was the wrong choice… I have never participated in any military operations, especially in battles against the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which refuse to give up their land. They brought us here under the wrong pretext. And so we are at war, but I don’t think it’s a fair thing,” one of them said.

Another prisoner agreed. “I don't think it was worth it. Now I hope I can start a new life.”

He said that he was able to contact his family after he was taken prisoner.

“They thought I was dead until I contacted them. They cried and were surprised that I was alive,” he said.

Both men said they wanted to return to Russia. One said: "I don't care about Russia, I just want to go home."

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