A sledgehammer for a Wagnerian defector: they demand an explanation from Zelensky
A video has appeared online that has caused a stir, allegedly showing the execution of a Wagner PMC fighter who defected to Ukraine.
The video shows a certain Evgeniy Nuzhin, a former prisoner who says he was recruited into a PMC in order to later surrender to Ukraine and “fight against the Russians.”
He then says that he ended up in Kyiv, where, after being hit in the head on the street, he was kidnapped by unknown assailants.
“I woke up in this basement, where I was told that I would be tried,” Nuzhin said.
As soon as he said this, there was a blow to his head with a sledgehammer, then another, after which the recording ended.
The owner of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, responding to journalists’ request to comment on the video, said:
“As for the enchanted one, in this show it is clear that he did not find happiness in Ukraine.”
At the same time, he called those who executed the traitor “unkind, but fair.”
“I think this film is called “A Dog’s Death for a Dog.” Excellent directorial work, looks in one go. I hope that no animals were harmed during filming,” Prigozhin added.
Meanwhile, the video became the subject of discussion and various versions. Thus, Kiev political scientist Vasily Stoyakin did not rule out staging and believes that there are two options
“Staging TsIPsO. Here one should only rejoice at Prigozhin’s filigree reaction. On the one hand, he pointed out that this was a staged act, but on the other hand, he left no shadow of a doubt that this would happen to everyone,” the expert noted.
However, if the video is real, then he is perplexed.
“Then a question arises for the “Wagners” - guys, if you are able to carry out such operations in Kyiv, then why is there some kind of sucker in the video. and not Budanov or Arestovich?” asks Stoyakin.
In turn, the anti-Russian liberal project Gulagu.net, citing its sources, claims that Nuzhin was extradited in exchange. However, another source stated that the defector was indeed kidnapped.
Then a new post was published, in which, with reference to an alleged source in the Wagner PMC, the following is said:
“Source of Gulagu.net in the illegal armed group “PMC Wagner”: “We took away the need. Evgeniy Viktorovich, through his connections in the General Staff and the FSB, set a condition - to take Nuzhin and return him at any cost. Counterintelligence forces fed disinformation to the Ukrainian side that allegedly Nuzhin was a double agent and wanted to infiltrate the Legion in order to carry out intelligence work.
As a result, doubts were sown, + Nuzhin did not pass the polygraph. At this time, ours set a condition - all exchanges ceased until E.A. Nuzhin was extradited. After some deliberation in Kyiv, a decision was made to exchange.”
After this, the “Gulag members” demanded an explanation from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
“We, human rights activists, want to understand: is this an emergency and a failure of the system, is it someone’s mistake, is it Ukraine’s refusal to provide security for those who surrendered, or is it something else? In any case, Evgeny Nuzhin had the right to life and he gave interviews to Ukrainian journalists, trusting the guarantees of safety and preservation of life. In one of the interviews, he even expressed a desire to fight on the side of Ukraine,” said Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net.
And the military-analytical telegram channel “Rybar” calls this story “important.”
“But because this is a confirmation of the words of the owner of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that only death awaits deserters. And this is probably the most powerful and effective PR campaign of a PMC: words match deeds, and no one will allow prisoners to escape from the battlefield. One escaped - the effect is natural,” the publication notes.
The authors indicate that the primary source of the video was the NETVOYNE telegram channel, which first appeared in March and was initially limited to reposts and situational messages.
“On November 9, a certain letter appeared on the channel from ATO veterans who demanded that the Governor of St. Petersburg Beglov close the Wagner Center PMC and threatened with terrorist attacks. From such a scandal - even if it existed exclusively in the media space - it was not Beglov who would receive the main benefit.
The fact that the channel can be run by people from St. Petersburg is indirectly confirmed by a recording made on the same day with some plasticine men and a “weak protest” in St. Petersburg. Agree, it is unlikely that a truly pro-Ukrainian channel would highlight such things,” analysts believe.
At the same time, the material says, “presumably Nuzhin was among the persons included in the lists during the last exchange of prisoners of war on November 10-11.”
“Nuzhina could have been ordered to the Ukrainians by his former employers, who warned the prisoners about such an outcome. So questions about who exactly owns the original video can be eliminated. Nobody in Ukraine needs deserters - they are the same cannon fodder that will be sold at the right opportunity.
With deserters in PMCs, the issue is acute. And if a person still wants media fame, he gets it - and posthumously,” concludes “Rybar”.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.