Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the murder of former prisoner Yevgeny Nuzhin, a video of which was earlier posted by the Grey Zone Telegram channel associated with the Wagner PMC.
“No, we don't have any comment. We don't know what that is or how true it is. It's none of our business,” Peskov said.
In the video, Nuzhin, who surrendered to Ukraine in September, says he was kidnapped from Kyiv and “is about to be tried.” After that, his head is bludgeoned with a sledgehammer.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner PMC, publicly endorsed the killing. “I prefer to watch history in the theater. As for the perpetrator, this clearly shows that he didn't find happiness in Ukraine, and met with unkind but fair people. I think this movie is called 'To a Dog, a Dog’s Death.' It's a great directorial work, a breathtaking film. I hope that not a single animal was injured during the production of the film,” Prigozhin was quoted as saying by the press service of his company “Concord.”
Employees of the human rights project Gulagu.net suspect that Nuzhin was exchanged to the Wagner PMC in exchange for Ukrainian soldiers.
According to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti, Nuzhin was 55 years old, was convicted of murder, and served 23 of his 28-year sentence in prison. Prior to his imprisonment, Nuzhin reportedly served in the internal troops of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.