Testimony Of Two Inmates Recruited By Wagner All I Wanted Was To Survive

Two ex-prisoners recruited by the private paramilitary group Wagner last fall recounted their front-line combat experience in an interview with CNN in the presence of Ukrainian security forces They gave details of their experience on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine in an interview lasting more than an hour.

CNN reports that the testimonies, recorded anonymously, were voluntary, with the prisoners free to stop the interview if they wished One of them was serving a 20-year sentence for murder at the time of recruitment.

Attacks in waves One of the detainees told about the first attack he took part in near the village of Bilohorivka "We were 90 people.

Sixty died in that first assault, killed by mortar fire A few remained, wounded.

If a group fails, another is immediately sent If the second one also fails, another one is sent,” he said.

The second described his participation in a five-day assault that took place in a forest near the town of Lîsîceank on the luhansk-donetsk border in eastern Ukraine "The first steps in the forest were difficult because of the mines scattered everywhere.

Out of 10 boys, seven were killed on the spot You can't help the injured.

The Ukrainians were constantly shooting at us, so even if their injuries were minor, you had to keep moving forward or you would follow Five days had passed, people were dying near me, praying, begging for water.

You think you can put the gun down and nothing will happen And then the fight starts again 10 minutes later, and [the Ukrainians] keep coming after you.

There is no feeling about it Just wave after wave.

Four hundred [Wagnerian fighters] were brought there, and then more and more, constantly," he says The prisoners spent several weeks on the eastern battlefront before being captured, and say that the only thing that mattered to them was was to stay alive.

"All I wanted was to survive, no matter what the cost," said the inmate involved in the attack in the woods Retreat was punishable by execution "We couldn't retreat without an order, because if we didn't obey the order, we would be killed," said one of the prisoners.

"One man stayed in a position, he was very scared, it was his first assault We were ordered to run forward.

But the man hid under a tree, refusing to do so This was reported to headquarters and it was over.

He was taken to 50 yards of base "He dug his own grave and then he was shot.

" The promise of freedom The prisoners say they were recruited between August and September, when chief wagner arrived by helicopter at their prison and offered them a six-month contract in exchange for their freedom the 10 or 11 years I had to spend in prison I just wanted a chance for a fresh start," said one inmate, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder.

“Only a handful of people in my unit accepted for the money, most of them came to fight because they had long sentences Although there were also some who only had 12 days left of their sentence and went anyway", said one of the fighters.

"They lined everyone up in the yard and Prigozhin started recruiting people He said he had received authority from higher authorities to take anyone out of prison, regardless of crimes or length of detention.

The ideal candidates are criminals and thieves," he said Age or training didn't matter either, some of them not even being able to hold a gun: "They accepted almost everyone.

" The inmates say they were tempted by the chance of freedom - six months of fighting Ukrainian "Nazis" plus pay, loan repayment and a clean record Hundreds of prisoners were recruited during that Prigozin visit and a few days later were transported to the Rostov region for training.

Alcohol and drugs were strictly prohibited during training, the two prisoners claim The training was short, with basic techniques being taught.

Misled as to the nature of the fighting Yet, they say, they were told nothing about the fact that they would be fighting in the front line, but that they would be used to hold defensive positions “I thought we'd be fighting Poles and various mercenaries.

Germans I didn't think there was anyone left from the Ukrainian army there.

I thought they had left the country," one of them said "So it became clear that they were just making up lies to get us to go to war with the Ukrainians.

No one really believed that the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] would really fight for their own country, for their loved ones I found this out only after I went there.

" One of them said that he and a wounded comrade were the only survivors in his group, caught "between two Ukrainian mortars and a sniper " "The command ordered me to shelter in my position, so I went into the trenches, waiting for the evacuation.

They sent a group of 10 people, and the sniper took out all 10," he recalled "Then the command announced to us on the walkie-talkie: Get out as you can, you're on your own.

" At that point, he continued, Ukrainian soldiers "came and fired a shot near my leg, they said " hands up' and that's it "I think it was the wrong decision.

I have never participated in a military operation, especially fighting against the AFU, who refuse to give up their territories They brought us here under false pretenses.

And so we're at war, but I don't think it's a just cause," one of them said "I don't think it was worth it.

Now I hope I can turn over a new page," agreed the other .