The “I Want to Live” project published an interview with a captured Wagner PMC mercenary who had previously fought in Mali and later went to war against Ukraine. According to him, while in Mali he witnessed Russian mercenaries brutally abusing local residents.
This was reported by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
The intelligence service said the man agreed to fight against Ukraine for money and financial incentives, but was later captured.
In the interview, he claims that Wagner PMC instructors used prisoners and local residents as “live mannequins” during tactical medicine training.
According to the mercenary, people were deliberately inflicted with severe injuries, after which trainees practiced stopping bleeding and other medical procedures on them. Some of the victims, according to his testimony, were left without assistance after such “training.”
The prisoner also described cases in which people were used to practice attacks with bladed weapons.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine stressed that such testimonies are not isolated. International human rights organizations have previously documented extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, the burning of homes and attacks on civilians in Mali, which, according to their findings, involved Russian forces.
The full interview with the captured mercenary was published on the YouTube channel of the “I Want to Live” project.
