“A dog’s death for a dog”: the Wagner group’s defense of the brutal “execution” of a Russian mercenary

“A dog death for a dog.”

Those were the words used by the head of the wagner groupa Russian private military company, to defend a brutal video apparently showing the death of one of its mercenaries who defected in Ukraine.

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The video, whose authenticity could not be independently verified by the BBC, was released over the weekend on the Gray Zone Telegram channel, linked to the Wagner group.

In the pictures shows what appears to be the summary execution of Yevgeny Nuzhin, a 55-year-old convicted murderer who had been recruited to fight in Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhinhead of the Wagner group and an ally of Vladimir Putin, defended in a statement what the video shows, noting that Nuzhin had “betrayed his people, betrayed his comrades.”

Using sarcasm, he described the video as “excellent editorial work that could be seen in one sitting.”

“I think the movie is called ‘A Dog’s Death for a Dog,'” he said.

For its part, Moscow tried to distance itself from the video and its content. “That is not our business,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to this matter.

A recruit who changed sides

The video posted on Telegram begins with Nuzhin describing how he went to the front lines as a member of the Wagner group, after being recruited in August. He said that he intended to switch sides and “fight the Russians”, and was later captured by the Ukrainians.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Nuzhin had betrayed his country and his comrades. (GETTY IMAGES).

He then indicated that after being attacked in kyiv on November 11, he lost consciousness and woke up in the basement where the video was being recorded.

An unidentified man then appears on camera and attacks Nuzhin with a sledgehammer, who falls to the ground and continues to be beaten to death.

However, it is not clear how Nuzhin could be walking freely in kyiv after being taken as a Ukrainian prisoner of war.

In September, after being captured by Ukraine, Nuzhin offered details about his case in an interview with a Ukrainian journalist.

There he said that he had been personally recruited by Prigozhin, who is a close associate of Putin, with the promise of a full pardon for his murder conviction, a salary and compensation for his family if he died in combat.

He added that the reason they gave him for his recruitment was that “the homeland is in danger.”

However, he stated that his intention in joining the war was to surrender to the Ukrainian authorities.

In August, the group that had been recruited from his prison reached the occupied Luhansk region, where hit squads were formed.

Nuzhin described his role as “cannon fodder” and said any breach of orders would mean summary execution.

He added that he was assigned the task of recovering the bodies of dead soldiers and that it was during one of those operations that he was able to escape and surrender to Ukrainian forces.

Prigozhin created the Wagner group in 2014, but did not publicly acknowledge it until September of this year.

The group first emerged in eastern Ukraine in 2014, at the start of the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian groups in the Donbas region.

Since then, its mercenaries have participated in combats in Syria and in several African countries.

Since the Russian invasion in February, several of its members have been accused by Ukraine of committing war crimes.

In September, Prigozhin was seen recruiting convicts for Wagner in a Russian prison.

Source: Elcomercio