Several Russian Telegram channels recently posted a video of the execution of Evgeniy Nuzhin with a sledgehammer. The 55-year-old Nuzhin was a former prisoner of the Ryazan Penal Colony-3 and a Wagner Private Military Company member. After switching sides to Ukraine to seek refuge, he was bludgeoned to death, an incident that has left netizens astonished.
Those who saw the video were horrified by it, and one person even called the Wagner Group "horrifically evil."
The Wagner group prominently employs veterans of Russia's armed forces, who have fought in Syria, Mali, Libya, the Central African Republic, and Ukraine, among other countries.
In the video, which has now gone viral, Evgeniy Nuzhin can be seen held captive. While watching an interview with a Ukrainian journalist, he reveals how Russia has recruited criminals in the war against Ukraine. He also shares that the convicts deliberately joined Wagner to be held captive by Ukraine and go on to fight Russia.
In another clip of the video, Nuzhin's face is taped against what seems to be a brick wall. He can be heard stating that he was born on September 4, 1967, and that he planned to join the side of Ukraine. He also claimed that on November 11, he was hit in the head in Kyiv, after which he ended up in a basement where he was told that he would be "judged."
A man in a military uniform can then be seen hitting Evgeniy Nuzhin with a sledgehammer. He continues to hit him in the face until the video ends.
Netizens are stunned by the video of Evgeniy Nuzhin being executed with a sledgehammer
Internet users were disturbed to see the former convict being executed by the Wagner group. Many noted that this was not the first time the organization had taken such drastic actions. The organization has reportedly been using the sledgehammer for murder since the war in Syria.
A sledgehammer has been notably used in several of Wagner's recruitment videos and has since become the unofficial symbol of the group. It is often used to punish and torture those who have gone against the Russian armed forces.
Many expressed disdain over the video and called Wagner a "terrorist organization." Others stated that they were horrified by the video and its content.
"A dog receives a dog's death" - Wagner group founder issues statement following the sledgehammer execution
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman who is the founder of Wagner and a close ally of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, said in a statement:
“It seems to me that this film should be called - ‘a dog dies a dog’s death.’ It was an excellent directional piece of work, watched in one breath. I hope no animals were harmed during filming.”
In further remarks, Prigozhin warned others in Russia by stating:
“Some traitors are holed up in offices, not thinking about their own people," he said. "Some of them use their own business jets to fly to those countries that seem neutral to us so far. They fly away so as not to participate in today's problems. They are traitors too.”
Prigozhin would often fly to the Russian prison colonies and lecture convicts about defending their "Motherland." Before the war in Ukraine, Russian officials promised convicts that they would pardon them for their crimes if they were to commit the war against Ukraine.
