‘I realised this was not my war’: Russian mercenary who fled Wagner group ‘executed with sledgehammer’

Video appears to show Russian convict beaten to death – although head of Wagner seeks to cast doubt on footage in second clip

Footage appears to show a Russian convict who fought for the Wagner group beaten to death with a sledgehammer after being accused of fleeing the war.

The man, who identified himself as Dmitry Yakushchenko, 44, was accused of fleeing the mercenary group and defecting to Ukraine.

The Wagner group is a private military company led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man with longtime links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

In an unverified video published by the Grey Zone Telegram channel, Mr Yakushchenko says he was born in Crimea and left prison before joining the mercenary group. However, in another clip posted later by Mr Prigozhin, the soldier says, "I was forgiven."

Mr Yakushchenko's current circumstances are unclear - and there is no confirmation that he is still alive, despite the second video and a message from Mr Prigozhin on Telegram calling Mr Yakushchenko, "a fine fellow". It is unclear when either video was made

The original footage, captioned “video from the court for treason”, appears to show the 44-year-old with his head taped to a block on a brick wall, while an unidentified person dressed in camouflage stands behind him carrying a sledgehammer.

Facing the camera in a seated position, he then appears to recite his name and year of birth.

“I was in the streets of the city of Dnipro where I got hit on the head and lost consciousness, I woke up in this room and was told I would be tried,” he said.

“I was planning on finding some loophole, just, as they say, to run away,” he said, adding he “realised this was not my war”.

After this, the person behind him raises the sledgehammer and appears to swing it into his head.

A man walks by a drawn again mural depicting the logo of Russia's Wagner Group on a wall in Belgrade, Serbia (AP)

The video is blurred at this point, but a loud noise can be heard, and Mr Yakushchenko collapses to the floor. The man swings the sledgehammer again.

A caption then appears on the video which says: “The court session is declared closed.”

Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin (AP)

Grey Zone said that he was captured in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

“After which, like his colleague Yevgenny Nuzhin, he fell ill with the same disease that makes you faint in Ukrainian cities... and then wake up in the basement at your last court hearing,” Grey Zone said, referring to the sledgehammer execution of another mercenary shown in November.

After surrendering to Ukrainian troops on the frontline, Mr Yakushchenko reportedly fell back into Wagner’s hands following a prisoner of war swap earlier this month between Ukraine and Russia, according to Cheka-OGPU Telegram channel.