Two Russians claiming to be former Wagner commanders admit killing children and civilians in Ukraine

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Video Ad FeedbackPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20- Source:CNNPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20Russia-Ukraine conflict16 videosVideo Ad FeedbackPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad Feedback’Putin is a political animal who can sense fear,’ says Ukraine FM07:46Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackRussian media praises MTG for trying to derail Ukraine aid bill02:46Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackWatch: Mitch McConnell blasts Tucker Carlson over Ukraine bill00:36Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackSee timelapse of Ukraine’s fragile front line as it waits for US aid02:30Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackZelensky tells CNN the US needs to send aid to avoid Putin from starting WWIII02:17Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackEx-defense secretary: How Putin may base his actions on a Trump presidency00:47Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackRetired colonel says this is one of the ‘big problems’ amid Russia’s recent gains01:29Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackVideo appears to show Ukrainian drone strike on Russian oil refinery03:16Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackUkraine destroying Musk’s Starlink systems being used by Russia03:56Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackHear what Putin said about US court cases involving Trump after reelection win in Russia03:11Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackPutin’s critics have been silenced but the election still matters. Here’s why01:21Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackCNN joins Ukrainian medivac team under cover of darkness04:21Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackPutin’s propaganda machine trolls and scapegoats the US03:48Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackUkraine struggles to hold the line facing heavy fire from Russian advance04:24Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad Feedback’He has no idea what’s coming’: Biden sends message to Putin (2022)02:36Now playing- Source:CNNSee More Videos

Video Ad FeedbackPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20- Source:CNNPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20

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Purported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20- Source:CNN

Purported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine

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Purported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20

Purported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine

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Russia-Ukraine conflict16 videosVideo Ad FeedbackPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad Feedback’Putin is a political animal who can sense fear,’ says Ukraine FM07:46Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackRussian media praises MTG for trying to derail Ukraine aid bill02:46Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackWatch: Mitch McConnell blasts Tucker Carlson over Ukraine bill00:36Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackSee timelapse of Ukraine’s fragile front line as it waits for US aid02:30Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackZelensky tells CNN the US needs to send aid to avoid Putin from starting WWIII02:17Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackEx-defense secretary: How Putin may base his actions on a Trump presidency00:47Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackRetired colonel says this is one of the ‘big problems’ amid Russia’s recent gains01:29Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackVideo appears to show Ukrainian drone strike on Russian oil refinery03:16Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackUkraine destroying Musk’s Starlink systems being used by Russia03:56Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackHear what Putin said about US court cases involving Trump after reelection win in Russia03:11Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackPutin’s critics have been silenced but the election still matters. Here’s why01:21Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackCNN joins Ukrainian medivac team under cover of darkness04:21Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackPutin’s propaganda machine trolls and scapegoats the US03:48Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad FeedbackUkraine struggles to hold the line facing heavy fire from Russian advance04:24Now playing- Source:CNNVideo Ad Feedback’He has no idea what’s coming’: Biden sends message to Putin (2022)02:36Now playing- Source:CNNSee More Videos

Russia-Ukraine conflict16 videos

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Video Ad FeedbackPurported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20Now playing- Source:CNN

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Purported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine02:20Now playing- Source:CNN

Purported former Wagner commanders say they killed children in Ukraine

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CNN—Two Russian men who claim to be former Wagner Group commanders have told a human rights activist that they killed children and civilians during their time inUkraine.The claims were made in video interviews with Gulagu.net, a human rights organization targeting corruption and torture inRussia.In the video interviews posted online, former Russian convicts Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev – who were both pardoned by Russian presidential decrees last year, according to Gulagu.net – described their actions in Ukraine, during Russia’s invasion.CNN cannot independently verify their claims or identities in the videos but has obtained Russian penal documents showing they were released on presidential pardon in September and August of 2022.Uldarov, who appears to have been drinking, details how he shot and killed a five- or six-year-old girl.“(It was) a management decision. I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said.According to Gulagu.net, the testimonies were given to founder and Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin over the span of a week. It said Uldarov and Savichev were in Russia when they spoke.CNNRelated article’Just to survive’: Wagner fighters recount the horrors of battle in eastern Ukraine“I want Russia and other nations to know the truth. I don’t want war and bloodshed. You see I’m holding a cigarette in this hand. I followed orders with this hand and killed children,” Uldarov said, describing his motivation for the interview.The Wagner Group is a Russian private mercenary organization fighting in Ukraine, headed by Russian oligarchYevgeny Prigozhin.It hasrecruited tens of thousands of fightersfrom Russian jails,offering freedom and cashafter a six-month tour. It’s estimated by Western intelligence officials and prison advocacy groups that between 40,000 and 50,000 men were recruited.Uldarov said in the eastern Ukrainian cities ofSoledarand Bakhmut – which have seen some of thefiercest fighting– Wagner mercenaries “were given the command to annihilate everyone.”“There is a superior over all the commanders – it’s Prigozhin, who told us not to let anyone get out of there and annihilate everyone,” he added. CNN haspreviously reportedon former Wagner fighters making similar claims.Uldarov has since appeared torecant his accountin a video call with Prigozhin-linked Russian news agency RIA-FAN.At one point in the interview, Savichev described how they “got the order to execute any men who were 15 years or older.”He also talked about getting orders to ‘sweep’ a house. “It doesn’t matter whether there is a civilian there or not. The house needs to be swept. I didn’t give a f**k who was inside,” he said.“Whether a hut or a house, the point was to make sure that there wasn’t a single living person left inside,” he said. “You can condemn me for this. I will not object. It’s your right. But I wanted to live, too.”BAKHMUT, UKRAINE – DECEMBER 3: A park avenue damaged due to hostilities on December 3, 2022 in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Russian troops trying to take Bakhmut for several months. Ukrainian soldiers hold the defense of the city, where the fiercest clashes take place. (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty ImagesRelated articleOpinion: How the battle for Bakhmut exposed Russia’s ‘meat-grinder’Savichev said Wagner fighters who did not follow orders were killed.Wagner Group chief Prigozhin confirmed on his Telegram channel that he had watched parts of the video, and threatened retribution against the two former Wagner fighters. “As for what (Osechkin) filmed, I looked at the pieces of video I managed to see,” he said. “I can say the following: if at least one of these accusations against me is confirmed, I am ready to be held accountable according to any laws.”But Prigozhin said that “if none is confirmed, I will send a list of 30-40 people who are spitting at me like Osechkin (there is a whole list of them, including the scum that fled Russia) that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine is obligated to hand over to me for a ‘fair trial,’ so to speak.”“They will not be “civilians” for us, and especially not children, whom we have never touched and do not touch. This is a flagrant lie. These people (spreading the lies) are our enemies, and we will deal with them in a special way.”Earlier, Prigozhin said on Telegram: “Regarding the execution of children, of course, no one ever shoots civilians or children, absolutely no one needs this. We came there to save them from the regime they were under.”Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said in a tweet Monday that the group must be held accountable.“Russian terrorists confessed to numerous murders of Ukrainian children in Bakhmut and Soledar. Confession is not enough. There must be a punishment. Tough and fair. And it will definitely be. How many more crimes like these have been committed?” he said.In February, CNNspoke to two former Wagner fighterswho described how recruited Wagner convicts are pushed to the front lines in a human wave, reminiscent of World War I charges. Deserters, or those who refuse orders are killed and there was no evacuation of the wounded, they said.In January, US Treasury Department designated Wagner Group as asignificant transnational criminal organization, and imposed a slew of fresh sanctions on a transnational network that supports it.The US Department of State concurrently announced a number of sanctions meant to “target a range of Wagner’s key infrastructure – including an aviation firm used by Wagner, a Wagner propaganda organization, and Wagner front companies,” according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

CNN—

Two Russian men who claim to be former Wagner Group commanders have told a human rights activist that they killed children and civilians during their time inUkraine.

The claims were made in video interviews with Gulagu.net, a human rights organization targeting corruption and torture inRussia.

In the video interviews posted online, former Russian convicts Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev – who were both pardoned by Russian presidential decrees last year, according to Gulagu.net – described their actions in Ukraine, during Russia’s invasion.

CNN cannot independently verify their claims or identities in the videos but has obtained Russian penal documents showing they were released on presidential pardon in September and August of 2022.

Uldarov, who appears to have been drinking, details how he shot and killed a five- or six-year-old girl.

“(It was) a management decision. I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said.

According to Gulagu.net, the testimonies were given to founder and Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin over the span of a week. It said Uldarov and Savichev were in Russia when they spoke.

CNNRelated article’Just to survive’: Wagner fighters recount the horrors of battle in eastern Ukraine

CNN

Related article’Just to survive’: Wagner fighters recount the horrors of battle in eastern Ukraine

“I want Russia and other nations to know the truth. I don’t want war and bloodshed. You see I’m holding a cigarette in this hand. I followed orders with this hand and killed children,” Uldarov said, describing his motivation for the interview.

The Wagner Group is a Russian private mercenary organization fighting in Ukraine, headed by Russian oligarchYevgeny Prigozhin.

It hasrecruited tens of thousands of fightersfrom Russian jails,offering freedom and cashafter a six-month tour. It’s estimated by Western intelligence officials and prison advocacy groups that between 40,000 and 50,000 men were recruited.

Uldarov said in the eastern Ukrainian cities ofSoledarand Bakhmut – which have seen some of thefiercest fighting– Wagner mercenaries “were given the command to annihilate everyone.”

“There is a superior over all the commanders – it’s Prigozhin, who told us not to let anyone get out of there and annihilate everyone,” he added. CNN haspreviously reportedon former Wagner fighters making similar claims.

Uldarov has since appeared torecant his accountin a video call with Prigozhin-linked Russian news agency RIA-FAN.

At one point in the interview, Savichev described how they “got the order to execute any men who were 15 years or older.”

He also talked about getting orders to ‘sweep’ a house. “It doesn’t matter whether there is a civilian there or not. The house needs to be swept. I didn’t give a f**k who was inside,” he said.

“Whether a hut or a house, the point was to make sure that there wasn’t a single living person left inside,” he said. “You can condemn me for this. I will not object. It’s your right. But I wanted to live, too.”

BAKHMUT, UKRAINE – DECEMBER 3: A park avenue damaged due to hostilities on December 3, 2022 in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Russian troops trying to take Bakhmut for several months. Ukrainian soldiers hold the defense of the city, where the fiercest clashes take place. (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty ImagesRelated articleOpinion: How the battle for Bakhmut exposed Russia’s ‘meat-grinder’

Related articleOpinion: How the battle for Bakhmut exposed Russia’s ‘meat-grinder’

Savichev said Wagner fighters who did not follow orders were killed.

Wagner Group chief Prigozhin confirmed on his Telegram channel that he had watched parts of the video, and threatened retribution against the two former Wagner fighters. “As for what (Osechkin) filmed, I looked at the pieces of video I managed to see,” he said. “I can say the following: if at least one of these accusations against me is confirmed, I am ready to be held accountable according to any laws.”

But Prigozhin said that “if none is confirmed, I will send a list of 30-40 people who are spitting at me like Osechkin (there is a whole list of them, including the scum that fled Russia) that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine is obligated to hand over to me for a ‘fair trial,’ so to speak.”

“They will not be “civilians” for us, and especially not children, whom we have never touched and do not touch. This is a flagrant lie. These people (spreading the lies) are our enemies, and we will deal with them in a special way.”

Earlier, Prigozhin said on Telegram: “Regarding the execution of children, of course, no one ever shoots civilians or children, absolutely no one needs this. We came there to save them from the regime they were under.”

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said in a tweet Monday that the group must be held accountable.

“Russian terrorists confessed to numerous murders of Ukrainian children in Bakhmut and Soledar. Confession is not enough. There must be a punishment. Tough and fair. And it will definitely be. How many more crimes like these have been committed?” he said.

In February, CNNspoke to two former Wagner fighterswho described how recruited Wagner convicts are pushed to the front lines in a human wave, reminiscent of World War I charges. Deserters, or those who refuse orders are killed and there was no evacuation of the wounded, they said.

In January, US Treasury Department designated Wagner Group as asignificant transnational criminal organization, and imposed a slew of fresh sanctions on a transnational network that supports it.

The US Department of State concurrently announced a number of sanctions meant to “target a range of Wagner’s key infrastructure – including an aviation firm used by Wagner, a Wagner propaganda organization, and Wagner front companies,” according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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