Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, has denied any involvement in the execution of one of its fighters in Ukraine. Last week, a social media account linked to Wagner shared unverified footage of a man identified as a former mercenary being killed after he said he had switched sides in September to “fight against the Russians”. In the video, the man, who gave his name as Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, was seen with his head stuck to a brick wall. He said he was kidnapped in Kyiv on October 11 and taken to a cellar. “I hit my head and I passed out and I came to this cellar,” he said. “They told me I had to stand trial.” As he spoke these words, an unknown man in combat clothing behind Nuzhin was seen smashing a sledgehammer against the side of his head and neck. Nuzhin collapsed to the floor and the unknown man gave him another blow to the head. The video appeared on the Gray Zone Telegram channel, one of several that Russian media reported to be linked to the Wagner Group. The video was posted under the title, The Hammer of Vengeance. Asked to comment on the video of the execution, Prigozhin said Sunday in statements released by his spokeswoman that the video should be called “A dog accepts the death of a dog” and called Nuzin a “traitor.” “Nuzin betrayed his people, betrayed his comrades, consciously betrayed,” said Prigozhin, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for his role in Wagner. But on Tuesday, the 61-year-old denied Wagner’s involvement and accused US intelligence agencies of being behind the assassination, without providing any evidence to support his claim. “I asked Wagner employees if they kidnapped Evgeny Nuzhin and if they participated in his torture. “No one has provided information about involvement in his abduction or torture,” Prigozhin said in a letter addressed to Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov and posted on Russian social networking service VKontakte. “For me, it is very clear that Nuzhin was kidnapped and violently killed by US intelligence agents,” he added and called on Krasnov to launch an investigation into the murder. Russian human rights group Gulagu.net, which supports prisoners in Russia, has said Nuzin was in prison in Russia before being recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine. Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been accused of being personally involved in a recruitment drive by offering contracts in Russian prisons, pledging that those who surrender or are captured will be killed. In September, he revealed for the first time that he had founded the Wagner Group in 2014. Originally staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, Wagner’s mercenaries have fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic, Mali and Ukraine, among other countries, in recent years. Earlier this month, the group opened its first official headquarters in Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg.
