Russia's Wagner Group Mercenaries Hit Injured Colleague With Shovels, Video Released By Ukraine Shows

Ukraine has released footage of what appears to be Russian soldiers attacking their own gravely-injured colleague after pulling him away from the battlefield.

The footage was shot using a drone by the Seneka special platoon earlier this week, and videos of the same were shared on social media.

The incident reportedly happened on the outskirts of Bakhmut City in Donbas. Russia's paramilitary organization, the Wagner Group, has been significantly helping with the invasion since the war began in February 2021. The injured person is believed to be a commander of the group, the Guardian reported.

Four Wagner Group mercenaries are seen carrying the wounded commander, holding his hands and legs. They then stop at a barn, where they dump him, as seen in the graphic video. In another clip, three men appear to brutally attack the wounded soldier, using shovels. The condition of the soldier is unknown. The videos didn't show the before or after circumstances of the incident.

Last year, similar footage of a Wagner Group mercenary being executed with a sledgehammer was circulated online.

Founder of the military organization, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is also a close ally of Vladimir Putin, addressed the unverified video, and confirmed the executed person was a traitor, who switched sides and began fighting against the Russians.

The deceased, Yevegenny Nuzhin, was abducted on Oct. 11. The video showed him tied to a brick wall, before being killed using a sledgehammer. Commenting on the video which was verified by Reuters, Prigozhin said, "A dog receives a dog's death."

According to a report, mercenaries working with the group face threats of "summary execution" if they fail to advance on a designated assault route. According to a tweet by the Ministry of Defense about the situation in Ukraine on Dec. 19, fighters are issued a smart device, which shows their "designated axis of advance and assault objective superimposed on commercial satellite imagery."

The intelligence update further read, "At platoon level and above, commanders likely remain in cover and give orders over radios, informed by video feeds from small uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). Individuals and sections are ordered to proceed on the preplanned route, often with fire-support, but less often alongside armored vehicles."

MOD further said, "Wagner operatives who deviate from their assault routes without authorization are likely being threatened with summary execution. ... These brutal tactics aim to conserve Wagner's rare assets of experienced commanders and armored vehicles, at the expense of the more readily available convict-recruits, which the organization assesses as expendable."

The U.S. imposed new sanctions on the Wagner Group earlier this year, and designated it as a transnational criminal organization. The announcement came on the heels of news that the group was fishing for recruits outside Russia.