With the most brutal killing methods, the infamous Södnertruppe Gruppe Wagner attracted attention on social media last weekend. A video that surfaced on Telegram shows Wagner soldiers executing one of their own men with a hammer.
According to a report in the Russian opposition newspaper “Novaya Gazeta”, the soldier Yevgeny N. (†) is said to have fought in the ranks of the Wagner group at the beginning of the war. When his troops got into trouble, the soldier surrendered and from then on fought on the Ukrainian side against Russia. In November, N. was said to have been kidnapped from the capital Kiev and to have fallen back into the hands of the Wagner troops. And they took revenge on the deserter by the most brutal means.
Various justifications
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigoshin (61) praises his troops after the brutal murder. “The soldier did not find happiness in Ukraine. Instead, he met honest people,” Putin’s confidante told Russian media. He also described the act in the video as “excellent work” by his people.
Now, however, Prigozhin suddenly recoils – and instead blames the US for the murder of Yevgeny N. According to a statement from his company’s press service, the Wagner boss has contacted the Russian prosecutor’s office to discuss the possibility of a murder by US intelligence agencies to investigate.
As justification for the wild accusation, Prigozhin gives three alleged justifications: Yevgeny N. was kidnapped in Kiev. “The transportation of N. on the territory of Ukraine to the front line presents certain difficulties for the Wagner group, because the Wagner group currently has no mercenaries in Ukraine,” claims the Wagner boss. “But it can be done by US intelligence.”
Then it gets really absurd. No Russian swear words can be heard in the video of the execution. “And this is usually characteristic of such videos,” Prigozhin claims. In addition, in some videos of the kidnapping, the English language and the phrase “F*ck you” can be heard in the background. It is not clear which video Prigozhin is referring to with this statement.
The most confused theory then follows at the end. Prigozhin refers to the stone on which lies the shattered head of the alleged deserter. «The color of this brick with the gray border (…) is not typical for Russia. In Russia other colors are used to paint the stones,” says the Wagner boss. Therefore, it is clear: Russia has nothing to do with the kidnapping.
Brutal executions in Syria
Finally, Prigozhin claims that all of his employees were questioned about whether someone N. None of the employees said yes. It is therefore clear to the mercenary boss: his troops have nothing to do with the fact that they were the Americans.
According to the press release, the death of Yevgeny N. is now under further investigation. In particular, it must be ascertained whether N. was “recruited as a spy by the CIA” and should have infiltrated the Wagner group.
However, according to the “Novaya Gazeta”, the Wagner group is known for brutally executing people. In 2017, the group also reportedly executed at least one man with a hammer in Syria. (zis/man)