A former commander of the military contractor norway christmas food Wagner Group has sought asylum in Norway. Andrey Medvedev, a Russian, has said he fears for his life after he defected from the Wagner Group, which is owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Wagner Group includes a large number of convicts recruited in Russian prisons who have spearheaded attacks in Ukraine.

Medvedev said he fled after seeing prisoners on the frontlines mistreated and Wagner Group fighters executed by their own commanders. According to The Guardian, Medvedev is the first Wagner Group soldier to flee abroad. Medvedev grew up in a Siberian orphanage and spent years in jail for robbery, as per the newspaper. BBC quoted Russian human rights group Gulagu.

Medvedev was a soldier in the Russian Army. Medvedev joined Wagner Group in July 2022 after spending time in prison between 2017 and 2018. Medvedev was put in command of a Wagner division in Ukraine and given around 30-40 men per week. I signed a contract with the group on the 6th of July 2022. I had been appointed commander of the first squad of the 4th platoon of the 7th assault detachment.