Nikolai Peskov, the son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, stated in an interview with Russian media that he chose to join Russia’s Wagner mercenary group and fight in Ukraine.
“I felt it was my duty to… In an interview with the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Peskov said, “I couldn’t watch while friends and other people went there.
“I had to alter my last name when I went there. I wasn’t really known by anyone.
He said that he was awarded the Medal for Courage after serving for about six months.
CNN could not independently verify the claims.
Children of government figures and Russia’s elite have received criticism in the past for failing to fight in Ukraine.
Nikolai Peskov’s interview comes after the Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Friday that the Kremlin spokesperson’s son had served as a gunner with his mercenary force.
Prigozhin did not specify what period of time he was talking about.
According to Prigozhin, Nikolai Peskov served in PMC Wagner for six months under false documents with a different last name, working as a loader of an ammunition supply vehicle. The Wagner chief said Peskov attended a three-week training at their base in Molkino and later “left for Luhansk.”