Ex-Wagner Group member apologizes to Ukrainians in Norway

COPENHAGEN (AP) — A former member of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group who’s seeking asylum in Norway has apologized to Ukrainians living in the Scandinavian country, who object to his presence there.

“I’m a scoundrel to you, but I only ask you to take into account that I have come to realize that, albeit belatedly, and I spoke against all that,” Andrey Medvedev said in an excerpt from his interview to Norwegian broadcaster NRK that was posted online Tuesday. “I ask you not to condemn me, and in any case I apologize.”

Medvedev who has said that he fears for his life if he returns to Russia, lives in a center for asylum seekers in Oslo. He illegally crossed into Norway, which has a 198-kilometer (123-mile) -long border with Russia, earlier this month.

Medvedev has said that he left the Wagner Group after his contract was extended beyond the July-November timeline without his consent. He said he’s willing to testify about any war crimes he witnessed and denied participating in any himself.

He earlier reportedly told Russian dissident group Gulagu.net that he is ready to tell everything he knows about the shady a private military company and its owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, which takes part in the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine, has said it’s questioning Medvedev who “has the status of a witness.”