Russian President Vladimir Putin-linked mercenary group Wagner's former commander, who fought in Ukraine, fled to Norway to seek asylum in fear for his life. 

Medvedev, in a video posted by the Gulagu.net rights group, said he had crossed the border into Norway before being detained by Norwegian police.

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"I am afraid of dying in agony," the ex-commander told the rights group founder Vladimir Osechkin, who said he helped Medvedev leave Moscow after he approached them in fear for his life.

He crossed the border, climbing through barbed-wire fences and evading a border patrol with dogs, Medvedev said, adding that he heard border guards firing shots as he ran through a forest breaking into Norway.

Meanwhile, Norwegian police said they arrested a foreign citizen on Friday after he was caught illegally crossing the Russian-Norwegian border in the Arctic.