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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Wagner Shows Prison Recruit Alive Following Alleged Sledgehammer Killing Video |
| 2023-02-14 |
| [Moscow Times] Wagner goes Hollywood? Weird. What is the truth?. A Wagner Group fighter who deserted in Ukraine was kidnapped and executed by fellow fighters, a Telegram channel with links to the Russian mercenary outfit claimed Monday, sharing video of the alleged killing. This is the second publicly shared video of a Wagner recruit’s apparent death by sledgehammer in recent months after its leader threatened extrajudicial measures for convicted criminals who flee the battlefield. But a video released later Monday by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s press service showed Yakushchenko alive. In the video, he expresses gratitude to Wagner for "sparing" him in return for "bringing valuable information from captivity that saved many" Russian fighters’ lives. The footage then goes blurry and Yakushchenko is shown being presumably bludgeoned with a sledgehammer three times. The gruesome video’s authenticity was immediately disputed by independent journalist David Frenkel, who claimed the slow-motion sledgehammer execution may have been staged. It was not possible to independently verify the footage shared by Grey Zone. According to the independent Agentsvo news outlet, Ukraine returned Yakushchenko to Russia in December as part of a prisoner exchange. Prigozhin was filmed threatening Russian prisoners with execution for deserting in widely circulated recruitment videos last fall. In November, another video of Wagner fighter and convicted murderer Yevgeny Nuzhin’s sledgehammer killing for deserting in Ukraine was widely circulated on social media. From Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin: Dude looks none too happy about his confession Make-believe sledgehammer [ColonelCassad] The sledgehammer was not real. Yesterday a video appeared where a traitor was allegedly executed with a sledgehammer. Today, before lunch, various "reviews," and "analyses" of this video, were released. But as it turned out, it was a play. Video of the miscreant below: |
| Posted by:Thruter Gloluger6393 |
| #2 Looks like the Su-24 was able to make it back to base. An Su-25 hit the same day was not so lucky. |
| Posted by: Thruter Gloluger6393 2023-02-14 18:00 |
| #1 A week ago, Yevgeny "Top Gun Maverick" Prigozhin challenges Zelensky to a dogfight for control of Bakhmut. The clip was released by Prigozhin's press service, which said it was filmed aboard a Su-24 bomber plane operated by Wagner. In a Hollywood worthy plot twist Russian sources report that a Wagner PMC owned Su-24 was shot down over Bakhmut today. No word on the fate of Maverick and Goose. |
| Posted by: Thruter Gloluger6393 2023-02-14 01:27 |