Russian paratrooper Pavel Filatyev, who took part in Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, told Agenstvo Telegram channel on July 18 that he had obtained political asylum in France after writing a book about his experiences in the Kremlin's war against its neighbor.
After participating in Russia's attack on Ukraine in February and March 2022, Filatyev wrote a book criticizing the war. The book, titled ZOV (A Call) in Russian, is a play on the signs "Z" and "V" that mark Russian military vehicles in Ukraine and have become symbols promoted by Russian state media and officials of support for the war.
Before leaving Russia, Filatyev gave an interview to The Guardian saying that after his book was published, he changed his address several times to avoid possible arrest.
Shortly after launching the full-scale aggression against Ukraine in late February last year, President Vladimir Putin signed a law that calls for lengthy prison terms for distributing "deliberately false information" about Russian military operations as the Kremlin seeks to control the narrative about the war.
The France-based founder of the Gulagu.net human rights group, Vladimir Osechkin, helped Filatyev escape Russia for France in August 2022.
SEE ALSO: Revealed: Ukraine Approved Film Licenses For Moscow Movie Mogul's Firm Amid War With RussiaBut in March this year, he said he was unaware of the Russian's war crimes knowledge and said his organization was suspending efforts to help Russian military personnel leave the country so as not to aid possible war criminals.
According to Osechkin, Filatyev told Swedish journalist Erik de la Reguera during an interview that he had been aware that some of Ukrainian nationals captured by his unit would be later executed.
Osechkin said Filatyev had never told him and his group members about knowing of extrajudicial killings of some of the Ukrainians he and his fellow soldiers captured during the invasion of Ukraine.
Osechkin also said Filatyev did not mention that element in the book he published after Gulagu.net helped him leave Russia and move to France.
Agentstvo quoted Filatyev as saying Osechkin had misinterpreted his interview to the Swedish journalist, in which he said he was told about an alleged killing of a Ukrainian soldier captured by Russian troops but did not participate in the crime, which is mentioned in his book.
The Russian military has been accused of committing multiple war crimes in Ukrainian towns and cities. Russia denies the accusations despite abundant evidence to the contrary.