An ex-Wagner boss was arrested in Norway after officials suspected he was trying to sneak back into Russia

Former Wagner commander Andrei Medvedev is pictured in court in Oslo, Norway April 25, 2023.
Former Wagner commander Andrei Medvedev is pictured in court in Oslo, Norway April 25, 2023.

Gwladys Fouche/Reuters

  • An ex-Wagner group commander was shot at and arrested by Norwegian police, Reuters reported. 
  • Police said Andrei Medvedev was trying to sneak back into Russia illegally.
  • Medvedev abandoned Russia for Norway in January, claiming he feared for his life.

Authorities say a former commander of the Wagner group was arrested while trying to cross the Norway-Russia border.

Andrei Medvedev was shot at and arrested after authorities suspected he trying to cross the Russian border at an undesignated entry point on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Medvedev's lawyer, Norwegian attorney Brynjulf Risnes, told Reuters his client was arrested following a misunderstanding. 

"He was up there to see if he could find the place where he crossed (into Norway in January). He was stopped when he was in a taxi. He was never near the border," Risnes told the publication. "It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia)."

Medvedev abandoned Russia for Norway in January, claiming he feared for his life after witnessing the mistreatment of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. Since then, Norwegian authorities charged him with being involved in a bar fight, carrying an air gun, and committing violence against police. He was only convicted of the first two charges and later said he hoped to seek asylum in Norway, Reuters reported.

Medvedev's arrest comes after Wagner leader and founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a private jet crash on August 23 in what some have called a possible assassination. The crash came months after Prigozhin launched a short-lived mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Before his death, the Wagner boss had been exiled to Belarus. 

Read the original article on Business Insider


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