Two Wagner mercenaries who were taken prisoner by Ukraine gave CNN interviews for more than an hour and did not reveal their faces and identities for security reasons. CNN photo
Two Wagner mercenaries were captured by Ukrainian forces late last year. CNN could not reveal the identities of these two people for their own safety. Both were married, had children, and were employed by Wagner while in prison.
In an interview with CNN, two Wagner mercenaries told of the horrific losses in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine that are reminiscent of attacks in World War I.
“There are 90 of us. 60 people died in that first attack. All were killed by mortar fire. A few wounded survived. When one group falls, another will be sent immediately. If the second group is also unsuccessful, another group is sent,” a mercenary Wagner told of the first attack he took part in near the village of Bilohorivka, Lugansk province, eastern Ukraine.
The 2nd Wagner fighter took part in a five-day offensive through a forest near the city of Lysychansk on the Lugansk-Donetsk border in eastern Ukraine.
“The first steps into the forest were very difficult because it was full of landmines. Out of 10 people, 7 people were killed (because of landmines) immediately, “warrior Wagner said.
“You cannot help the injured. The Ukrainians kept shooting at us, so even if their injuries weren’t severe, you had to keep going, or you’d be the one getting hit. I was there for 5 days, the dead lay right next to me,” said mercenary Wagner, adding that he and his comrades were hunted relentlessly by Ukrainian forces, breaking out every 10 minutes. gunfight.
This person also revealed that some people were “frozen” by the fierceness of the battlefield.
“Some ‘frozen’ right in the woods and dropped their weapons. But to drop your weapon is to be snipped and killed. 400 Wagner warriors were brought here (the forest near Lysychansk) and then more and more mercenaries came,” said former mercenary Wagner.
During their several weeks on the front lines, the two mercenaries said that their only instinct was to survive.
“I just want to survive, no matter the cost,” said the mercenary Wagner, who participated in the attack in the jungle, and said he had learned to be “paralyzed” by enemy casualties – the Ukrainian soldier.
One mercenary added that he and an injured comrade were the only survivors of his Wagner unit. According to this person, he received orders to dig deep trenches at the location and wait for evacuation. However, the snipers discovered the group of Wagner mercenaries and destroyed them one by one. He was shot once in the leg and was taken alive.