by tyler | Apr 18, 2023 | CNN, europe
A Russian man who said he had killed children and other civilians while serving with the Wagner private military company in Ukraine appears to have recanted the claim, suggesting he was blackmailed into making it.
Azamat Uldarov, a former convict, made his retraction in a video call with Russian news agency RIA-FAN. It’s unclear if there were any conditions to the interview.
He and another former convict, Alexey Savichev, previously gave long and rambling interviews to Russian human rights group Gulagu.net, saying they were among the tens of thousands of Wagner fighters recruited from Russian jails to fight in Ukraine.
Speaking with Gulagu founder Vladimir Osechkin, Uldarov said he shot and killed a young girl, calling it “a management decision.”
“I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said, estimating that the girl was five or six years old.
In his interview with RIA-FAN – which is associated with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin – Uldarov said he was drunk when he gave the interview, and alleged that Osechkin had blackmailed him about his time in prison.
Asked by RIA-FAN: “They made you say what you said in the video, correct?” Uldarov replied: “Not only correct, it’s [expletive] correct. I had to say it because I had no choice.”
“I said whatever I was told to say,” Uldarov then said.
“Prigozhin is a great guy,” he added, giving a thumbs up. “He saved our lives.”
He also claimed – without specifying who – that “they have a video of me,” adding: “They are exploiting me, using my past life and my previous conviction.”
The call appeared to end with Uldarov saying: “What was said there was said under dictation. Is this enough? Have you got enough?”
But Gulagu’s Osechkin, who is based in France, told CNN he stood by the content of his interviews with the two men, citing Uldarov’s retraction as proof of how quickly dissenting voices are silenced in Russia.
Osechkin also claimed that both interviewees, Uldarov and Savichev, had been threatened with murder if they didn’t retract their statements to him. Savichev told Gulagu that his unit was ordered to kill any men 15 years old or older.
Wagner has been seeking Savichev for the past 24 hours, according to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Savichev “must get in touch with the Wagner PMC call center, and I guarantee that he will not be persecuted, neither judicially nor otherwise. He must get in touch with the Wagner PMC call center and explain why he provided this falsehood, who is behind it, how he was blackmailed and whether he was given any other objectives,” Prighozhin said in a statement on social media app Telegram.
“Get in touch with the Wagner PMC call center, come, tell us everything. I guarantee that you will leave safe and sound,” he added.
In another statement, Prigozhin said that according to “information we are receiving from convicts and former convicts, a group of people including former convicts and Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) employees, are actively cooperating with foreign groups including Gulagu.net.”
Prigozhin claimed: “This group collects compromising material on convicts and former convicts,” and he suggested that they might react by committing “quite major unlawful acts as a result of their recruitment, such as assassination of various persons protecting the interests of the Russian Federation, acts of sabotage including in frontline areas, and acts of sabotage and terrorism in the Russian Federation.”
Osechkin refuted the allegation and told CNN he believed Prigozhin is doing his best to avoid criminal responsibility for Wagner fighters’ conduct.
by tyler | Apr 18, 2023 | CNN, europe
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 in Ukraine.
The claims were made in video interviews with Gulagu.net, a human rights organization targeting corruption and torture in Russia.
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.
“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 oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.
It has recruited tens of thousands of fighters from Russian jails, offering freedom and cash after 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 of Soledar and Bakhmut – which have seen some of the fiercest 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 has previously reported on former Wagner fighters making similar claims.
Uldarov has since appeared to recant his account in 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.”
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, CNN spoke to two former Wagner fighters who 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 a significant 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.
by tyler | Apr 17, 2023 | CNN, europe
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine, in a decision that was condemned as politically motivated and draconian by the international community.
Kara-Murza was initially detained one year ago, hours after an interview with CNN in which he criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “regime of murderers.”
He was on trial for criminal offenses that included treason, spreading fake news about the Russian army, and facilitating activities of an undesirable organization. Russia criminalized criticism of the military following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. The court said he would serve his sentence “in a strict regime correctional colony.”
His wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, praised his courage following his sentencing. She wrote: “A quarter century – that is a “5+” for your courage, consistency and honesty in your many years of work. I am eternally proud of you, my dear, and I am always with you.” A 5+ is comparable to an A+ in the Russian educational system.
Kara-Murza will appeal the sentence, his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, told CNN on Monday.
The activist’s detention has been decried by international human rights organizations and prompted sanctions by the Biden administration last month.
Monday’s sentencing draws further attention on Putin’s brutal crackdown against freedom of expression, which has intensified since he invaded Ukraine last February.
Kara-Murza has long been critical of Putin and has survived two poisonings.
In March 2022, he spoke before the Arizona House of Representatives against the war, and in an interview with CNN in April 2022, the political dissident condemned Putin’s regime for targeting critics. He was arrested shortly afterwards for “failing to obey the orders of law enforcement,” according to his wife.
A lawyer for Kara-Murza said later on Monday that the Kremlin critic was in deteriorating health. “While he was already in custody, a number of symptoms associated with numbness of limbs and nerve failure have worsened,” Maria Eismont said.
Eismont said Kara-Murza was first diagnosed with polyneuropathy – a condition that develops when nerves in the body’s extremities are damaged – when he was taken for an examination to a civilian hospital in Moscow at the end of March. According to Eismont, the results of the examination showed serious problems with the nerves in both of his legs and one arm.
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny condemned the sentence, describing it in an audio statement as “illegal, shameless, and simply fascist.”
And the sentencing quickly drew a chorus of international condemnation for Putin. The British government criticized what it called the “politically motivated” sentencing. “Vladimir Kara-Murza bravely denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for what it was – a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. Russia’s lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Monday.
The EU added: “Today’s outrageously harsh court decision clearly demonstrates yet again the political misuse of judiciary in order to pressure activists, human rights defenders and any voices opposing Russia’s illegitimate war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The charge of treason in Russia was broadened in 2012 to include consultations or any other assistance to a foreign state or international or foreign organizations. It was used against Kara-Murza over his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In March, the United States imposed sanctions on a number of Russian individuals connected to what the Treasury Department called Kara-Murza’s “arbitrary detention” and called for his “immediate and unconditional release.”
His wife Evgenia told the London-based radio station LBC that neither she nor their children have spoken with him since last April. “The authorities said that he could not have phone conversations with his children because his children were living in the United States and the authorities were afraid that some secret information, some state secrets might somehow leak,” she said.
Evgenia Kara-Murza also said the children are “terrified” about their father’s wellbeing.
In the final hearing of his trial last week, Kara-Murza said he was “proud” of his political views.
“I’m in jail for my political views; for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, for many years of struggle against Putin’s dictatorship, for facilitating the adoption of personal international sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against human rights violators. Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it,” Kara-Murza said.
The original Magnitsky Act, signed into law in December 2012, blocks entry into the US and freezes the assets of certain Russian government officials and businessmen accused of human rights violations. The law was subsequently expanded to give global scope to the Russia-focused legislation.
Kara-Murza said he blamed himself for not being able to convince enough of his “compatriots” and politicians of democratic countries of the danger that the current regime in the Kremlin poses for Russia and the world.
He also expressed that he hoped “that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate.”
“Even today, even in the darkness surrounding us, even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people,” he added. “I believe that we can walk this path.”
by tyler | Apr 13, 2023 | CNN, europe
A fresh leak of classified US intelligence documents suggests broad infighting between Russian officials, including some within the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Defense Ministry, the New York Times reported Thursday.
CNN has not independently verified the documents. The NYT said it had shown the new 27-pages of documents to multiple US officials, who did not dispute the information but “could not, and would not, independently verify the documents.”
CNN has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
The US has said that the first set of documents released last week were authentic but has said that some of the documents were not legitimate and had been altered.
The NYT report says the documents, which it reports were posted on one of the Discord servers, show infighting between the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Defense Ministry over Russia’s casualty count for the war in Ukraine.
The new documents also indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin called Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to a meeting, believed to have taken place on February 22, to likely resolve a public dispute over ammunition supply, the NYT reports.
Prigozhin had accused Russia’s defense establishment of creating “major problems” with ammunition supplies for his troops.
He went as far as accusing the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry of “treason” for failing to get ammunition to Wagner fighters and “also not helping with air transport.”
On February 23, CNN reported Prigozhin said that a shipment of ammunition was now on its way to his fighters, in a message and voice note published on his Telegram channel.
The NYT report says the documents detail US monitoring of Russian intelligence and apparatus and military command. The original batch of highly classified Pentagon documents leaked online in recent weeks and reported on by CNN also revealed the degree to which the US has penetrated the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Wagner Group, largely through intercepted communications and human sources, which could now be cut off or put in danger.
The Kremlin said it doubts the “reliability” of reports of broad infighting between Russian officials, in response to a CNN question about the NYT article.
“I don’t know what these reports [of infighting] are based on, but I’m doubting their reliability and the author’s understanding of the essence of what is happening inside Russia,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
The leaks on social media in recent weeks have flustered US officials, who fear the revelations about how Washington spies on allies and foes alike could put sensitive sources at risk, and compromise important foreign relationships.
Several of the documents, which US officials say are authentic, disclose the extent of US eavesdropping on key allies, including South Korea, Israel and Ukraine.
Others divulge significant weaknesses in Ukrainian weaponry, air defense, and battalion sizes and readiness at a critical point in the war, as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch a counteroffensive against the Russians – and just as the US and Ukraine have begun to develop a more mutually trusting relationship over intelligence-sharing.
Ukraine has already altered some of its military plans because of the leak, a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the person behind the massive leak worked on a military base and posted sensitive national security secrets in an online group of acquaintances. CNN could not verify the article independently.
The Pentagon has also stood up an “interagency effort” to assess the impact of the leak, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said Sunday, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into the leaks last week.
by tyler | Apr 13, 2023 | CNN, europe
Protesters forced their way into the Paris headquarters of luxury giant LVMH, as France saw a fresh round of demonstrations over government plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
“If Macron wants to find money to finance the pension system, he should come here to find it,” Fabien Villedieu, a union leader, told CNN affiliate BFMTV outside the LVMH building.
The protests came on the day shares in LVMH – which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton and Moët – jumped to a record high.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez warned in advance that protesters might “hit out, often against what they see as capitalist signs,” speaking on French radio RMC.
Up to 600,000 people are expected to take to the streets across France on Thursday against the pension reforms in the latest protests, which come a day before a crucial court ruling on the constitutionality of the divisive law.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron argues reforms are essential to rein in public finances, and has been standing firm, this week saying “the country must continue to move forward.”
Speaking at an incinerator picket line near Paris on Thursday morning, Sophie Binet, the new head of the GGT, one of France’s main unions, insisted: “As long as the pension reform is not withdrawn, the mobilization will continue one way or another.”
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo voiced her support for the demonstrators before the new round of protests.
“On the eve of the decision of the constitutional council, I am once again supporting the mobilisations in Paris and everywhere in France,” Hidalgo tweeted.
“This reform is unjust and violent. The French have been asking for it to be withdrawn for months, the government has to hear them,” she wrote.
Friday’s ruling will be decisive on whether the protests will continue. The CFDT, France’s other main union, has been more amenable to a negotiated settlement.
Garbage is meanwhile also set to fill the streets of Paris once more as collectors and incinerator workers are on strike again, according to the CGT union.
This will be a rolling strike, the general secretary of the CGT union branch confirmed in a letter to the Paris mayor.
The previous near month-long strike, up until the end of March, had seen 10,000 tonnes of rubbish piled up across the capital at its worst.
by tyler | Apr 10, 2023 | CNN, europe
Rescuers have found two more bodies in the rubble of a building that collapsed in an explosion in the southern French port city of Marseille on Sunday, bringing the total death toll to six.
A “violent explosion” shook the building at around 12:30 a.m. local time, according to Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan, prompting a search and rescue effort as authorities investigated the cause of the blast.
The French Housing Authority said 179 people had been evacuated from the site, rescuers told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Rescue efforts are being complicated by a fire burning within the rubble, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told BFM, during a visit to the scene.
Darmanin said rescuers are also concerned about firefighting water endangering the lives of any buried survivors.
A spokesman for the country’s Civil Defense, Arnaud Wilm, told BFM that a fifth and sixth body had been found in the ruins on Monday. Wilm said both bodies were still under the rubble and have not yet been recovered.
Two people remain missing, according to BFMTV, who cite the prosecutor’s office.
Local residents described hearing an explosion, with lots of dust and a smell of gas in the air.
“It was exhausting and completely insane. I saw an avalanche of people panicking in the street and then I started running like crazy,” an unnamed witness told BFM.
Approximately 30 of the surrounding buildings have also been evacuated, according to Darmanin.
Prosecutor of Marseille Dominique Laurens said in a press conference Sunday that at this stage it was “impossible” to determine the cause of the explosion as “the situation has not yet been stabilized.” She said a “gas explosion” was one lead being examined but it was “something we can’t confirm at this stage of the investigation.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that his thoughts were with those impacted. “Thoughts with Marseille, where a building on rue Tivoli collapsed last night. I am thinking of those affected and their loved ones. An investigation is continuing with significant resources deployed. Thank you to the firefighters and rescuers mobilized,” he said.
A fund of 100,000 euros ($110,000) has been provided to help the victims of the blast, according to the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, with the money coming from regional authorities, BFMTV reported.
BFMTV also reports that the Marseille prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into “unintentional injuries.”
Marseille has suffered such incidents before. In 2018, CNN reported on the collapse of several buildings in the city’s Noailles district, which killed at least four people.
