A former Wagner fighter described the brutal training of Russian mercenaries in Mali
A former fighter with the Russian private military company “Wagner,” who is currently being held captive in Ukraine, spoke about the brutal training methods used on Russian mercenaries in Mali. According to him, Russian instructors used captured Africans for tactical medicine training.
He said that in 2023–2024, Russian instructors inflicted severe injuries on the captives and then practiced stopping the bleeding on them.
In particular, the mercenary said that one of the captives suffered an explosive injury after explosives were strapped to his leg and detonated. Afterward, Russian soldiers practiced stopping the bleeding on him.
Another prisoner, according to the Russian, had an artery in his armpit shot through. Yet another was used for knife training—the Russians practiced stabbing him in the heart.
Also, according to the former “Wagner” fighter, one of the prisoners had his leg chopped off with an axe, after which they practiced applying a tourniquet on him.
According to the Russian mercenary, all the captives died during these “training exercises.”
It is known that he was in Mali from September 2023 to April 2024. After returning to Russia in 2025, the man signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
He was subsequently assigned to the GRU’s 14th Separate Special Forces Brigade. During combat operations against Ukraine, the Russian soldier was taken prisoner.
The former mercenary recounted this in an interview with journalist Dmytro Karpenko.
The “Wagner Group” militants who remained in the Central African Republic (CAR) after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the transfer of the group’s main assets under Kremlin control, have established a drug empire in the upper reaches of the Ubangi River. Led by Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the PMC’s founder, the group of approximately 500 mercenaries has remained beyond the reach of both local law enforcement and Russian authorities.
At the same time, Russian intelligence services have stepped up their activities in Europe, recruiting former members of the Wagner Group to carry out sabotage operations.
