Sledgehammer execution of Russian mercenary who defected to Ukraine proven on video By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – A video purportedly displaying the sledgehammer execution of a former Russian mercenary who switched sides to again Ukraine was circulated on Russian social media on Sunday, with pro-Russian bloggers saying it was revenge for his alleged treachery.

In an unverified video distributed on Telegram channels which Russian media stated had been linked to the Wagner mercenary group, the person recognized himself as Yevgenny Nuzhin, 55, and stated he had modified sides to “battle towards the Russians”.

Within the footage, Nuzhin, proven along with his head taped to a brick wall, gave his identify, date of delivery and stated that he had modified sides on Sept. 4.

He stated he was kidnapped in Kyiv on Oct. 11 and got here round in a cellar.

“I acquired hit over the top and misplaced consciousness and got here round on this cellar,” he stated. “They instructed me I used to be to be tried.”

As he stated these phrases, an unidentified man loitering in fight clothes behind Nuzhin, smashed a sledgehammer into the aspect of his head and neck.

Nuzhin collapsed onto the ground and the unidentified man delivered one other blow to his head.

Reuters was unable to right away confirm the video, which the Gray Zone Telegram channel entitled “The hammer of revenge”.

It was additionally unclear how Nuzhin, who instructed Ukrainian media in September that he wished to battle for Ukraine, ended up within the fingers of what seem like Russian forces.

In a September interview, Nuzhin instructed Ukrainian media that he was a convicted killer who joined the Wagner group from jail however then modified sides and determined to battle towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

Wagner group, initially staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic, Mali and Ukraine, amongst different international locations.

Wagner has been recruiting convicts in Russian jails in latest months, in line with a video which confirmed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founding father of the Wagner mercenary group, chatting with convicts in a Russian jail. A senior U.S. protection official instructed reporters on Sept. 19 that the group was attempting to recruit over 1,500 convicted felons to participate in Russia’s warfare in Ukraine.

Requested to touch upon the execution video, Prigozhin, the founding father of the Wagner mercenary group, stated in remarks launched by his spokeswoman that the video must be referred to as “A canine receives a canine’s loss of life.”

Of Nuzhin, Prigozhin stated: “He didn’t discover happiness in Ukraine, and met with unkind however truthful individuals.”