The Norwegian Border Guard confirmed to the BBC that a Russian man had been detained after crossing the country's 198km (123miles) long border with Russia, but said it could not comment further for "reasons of security and privacy".His escape is believed to be the first known instance of one of the group's soldiers defecting to the West.Gulagu's founder Vladimir Osechkin told the BBC that Mr Medvedev had joined the paramilitary group in July 2022 on a four-month contract, but had deserted after witnessing a host of human rights abuses and war crimes while serving in Ukraine.Mr Risnes said his client had also witnessed a host of war crimes while fighting in Ukraine, including seeing "deserters being executed" by the Wagner Group's internal security service.He added that he believed Mr Medvedev had taken some evidence of war crimes with him to Norway and that he intends to share his information with groups investigating war crimes in the coming weeks."