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Russian Rambo Who Shot at Cops Confirms He Was in Wagner Group

Pavel Nikolin said he fired on his compatriots because he thought they were Ukrainian military.

The suspected Russian deserter accused of going full Rambo and opening fire on Russian police officers confirmed he had served in the Wagner Group, according to state media. Pavel Nikolin on Tuesday allegedly used a machine gun to shoot at police officers in Russia’s Rostov region near the Ukrainian border. When asked if he had served in Wagner—a private Russian military force that has been tied to the Kremlin—Nikolin reportedly said “yes.” He is then said to have hesitated before adding: “May I not answer this question?” Nikolin earlier told reporters that he shot at the cops because he hadn’t realized he’d crossed the border into Russia and mistook the officers for members of the Ukrainian military. One of the officers was injured in the attack. Nikolin was then detained the following day, allegedly surrendering to Russian special forces without resistance after seeing their uniforms. According to Russia’s Investigative Committee—which probes the country’s most serious crimes—he has a criminal history of robbery and theft. Wagner has reportedly been recruiting from Russia’s prisons to bolster the war on Ukraine.