Wagner-affiliated channel reports another extrajudicial killing of recruit with sledgehammer
The Telegram channel GREY ZONE, affiliated with the Wagner PMC, released another video of the sledgehammer execution of a convict-cum-mercenary who had surrendered to Ukrainian captivity. The clip was posted on the night of February 13, and the man in the video is presumably Russian national Dmitry Yakushchenko, born in 1978.
Yakushchenko was born in Crimea and had multiple criminal records. His latest conviction for robbery and murder had put him behind bars for 19 years. From the penal colony, he joined the Wagner PMC, and according to GREY ZONE, defected to Ukraine after four days of combat. In captivity, Yakushchenko gave an interview and confessed that he had immediately planned to escape and had done so near Bakhmut. He also said that Crimea would be Ukrainian again. The video is made up of two clips, the first showing Yakushchenko's interview from captivity, and the second including footage signed as “trial for treason”. The prisoner himself says that he got hit and blacked out in Dnipro, and then found himself at the place of execution. How exactly the captive mercenary ended back with the PMC is unclear.