Fighter of Wagner Group who was killed on camera volunteered to be exchanged

Ukrainska Pravda
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Yevgeny Nuzhin, the former convict and a fighter of Wagner Group paramilitary organisation, whose murder video appeared online, was sent by Ukraine to Russia as a result of the POW [prisoners of war – ed.] exchange.

Source: Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine, on air of Russian TV Channel Dozhd (Rain)

Details: As Podolyak states, Nuzhin went through the official procedure of exchanging prisoners of war; that is, he signed a voluntary consent to the exchange in accordance with all legal procedures.

Quote by Podolyak: "We have a very simple approach. A captured serviceman can sign a voluntary waiver of the exchange procedure. And we will have it recorded".

Details: Podolyak has denied rumours that Nuzhin was exchanged for 20 Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to him, the exchange took place according to the package-for-package rule. Podolyak said that Ukraine received 47 of its servicemen, and Russia received "some number" of its own.

According to Podolyak, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group, could have used Nuzhin for his own propaganda purposes, arranging a show execution of the military man.

Background:

  • On 11 November, the President's Office of Ukraine reported that 45 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were brought back to Ukraine as a result of the exchange. The Russian side did not comment on the exchange.

  • On 12 November, a video of the brutal murder of Yevgeny Nuzhin appeared online. It was called "the punishment of the traitor". The Gray Zone Telegram channel, which is associated with the Wagner Group, posted a video of Nuzhin's murder. Before his death, the man said that he "came to his senses" in the basement, where he was told that he would be "judged".

  • Yevgeny Nuzhin served his sentence in Ryazan Oblast of the Russian Federation and was recruited by the Wagner Group to participate in the war against Ukraine. He surrendered to Ukrainian forces in September. In an interview, Nuzhin stated that from the beginning he planned to surrender and fight on the side of Ukraine, where his relatives supposedly lived.

  • Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder and head of the Wagner Group, called the video "a wonderful director's work" and placed the blame for Nuzhin's death on the American special services. He claimed that the man executed on camera could have been recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) a long time ago.

  • The Kremlin refused to comment on the video. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that it was "none of their business".

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