Two Russians, Claiming to Be Former Wagner Commanders, Admit to Killing Children and Civilians in Ukraine

Two Russians, Claiming to Be Former Wagner Commanders, Admit to Killing Children and Civilians in Ukraine



UJ
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Two individuals, claiming to be former commanders of the Wagner Group, have informed a human rights activist that they were involved in the killings of children and civilians during their service in Ukraine.

These allegations surfaced in video interviews conducted with Gulagu.net, a human rights group focused on exposing corruption and abuse in Russia.

In the online video interviews, Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev, both of whom were reportedly pardoned by presidential decrees last year as per Gulagu.net, recounted their experiences during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

UJ is unable to verify the authenticity of their claims or identities from the videos, but has acquired Russian penal records indicating their release due to presidential pardons in September and August of 2022.

Uldarov, appearing under the influence of alcohol, recounted the shooting of a girl believed to be five or six years old.

“(It was) a directive from command. I couldn’t allow anyone to escape; my instructions were to eliminate anything that obstructed me,” he stated.

Gulagu.net reported that these testimonies were gathered over a week from their founder, Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin, who stated that Uldarov and Savichev were in Russia during the interviews.

“I want the truth to reach Russia and other nations. I detest war and bloodshed. Look, I am smoking with this hand while following orders with the other, leading to deaths of children,” Uldarov expressed his reason for participating in the interview.

The Wagner Group is a Russian private military company engaged in the conflict in Ukraine and is led by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.

It has recruited tens of thousands of combatants from Russian prisons, promising freedom and monetary incentives after a six-month commitment. Estimates from Western intelligence and prison advocates suggest that around 40,000 to 50,000 individuals have been recruited.

Uldarov stated that in the eastern Ukrainian locations of Soledar and Bakhmut, notorious for intense combat, Wagner mercenaries were ordered to “wipe out everyone.”

“There is a superior in charge of all commanders – that would be Prigozhin, who instructed us not to let anyone leave and to eliminate everyone,” he remarked. UJ has previously reported on earlier Wagner fighters making similar allegations.

Uldarov has since appeared to retract his statements in a video call with RIA-FAN, a news agency associated with Prigozhin.

During the interview, Savichev described their orders to execute any male individuals aged 15 and older.

He also recounted directives to “clear” a house. “It didn’t matter if civilians were inside; the house needed to be cleared. I didn’t care who it was,” he said.

“Whether it was a hut or a house, the aim was to ensure that not a single soul remained inside,” he remarked. “You may judge me for this. I don’t object; that’s your prerogative. However, I wanted to survive as well.”

Savichev claimed that those Wagner fighters who disobeyed commands faced execution.

Prigozhin confirmed on his Telegram channel that he had viewed parts of the footage and threatened consequences for the two ex-Wagner fighters. “Regarding what (Osechkin) filmed, I’ve seen the snippets available to me,” he mentioned. “If even a single one of these allegations against me is verified, I am ready to be held accountable according to whatever laws apply.”

However, Prigozhin added that “if none are substantiated, I will provide a list of 30-40 individuals who are maligning me like Osechkin (there is a comprehensive list, including traitors who fled Russia) that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine must surrender to me for a so-called ‘fair trial.’”

“They won’t qualify as “civilians” to us, especially not children, whom we have never harmed nor will we. This is an outrageous falsehood. Those spreading these lies are our adversaries, and we will address them differently.”

Earlier, Prigozhin stated on Telegram: “Concerning the execution of children, no one ever shoots at civilians or children; absolutely nobody desires this. We came to liberate them from the oppressive regime they were under.”

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, tweeted on Monday that accountability must be enforced for the group.

“Russian terrorists admitted to numerous murders of Ukrainian children in Bakhmut and Soledar. A confession is insufficient; there must be consequences. Severe and just. And it will surely happen. How many more such horrific acts have been committed?” he reiterated.

In February, UJ conversed with two former Wagner operatives who shared insights into how convict recruits are thrust to the frontlines in a manner reminiscent of mass charges in World War I. They reported that deserters or those who refused orders faced execution, and there was no provision for evacuating the wounded.

In January, the US Treasury Department designated the Wagner Group as a prominent transnational criminal entity and imposed a series of new sanctions against a global network supporting it.

Concurrently, the US Department of State announced a series of sanctions aimed at “disrupting a variety of Wagner’s critical infrastructure – including an aviation enterprise affiliated with Wagner, a Wagner propaganda entity, and companies operating under the Wagner facade,” as stated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.