Russian Rapper Tells State TV: Wagner Group Troops Only There to Earn Wages

A prominent Russian rapper told Kremlin-backed television that those who are fighting for a Moscow-backed mercenary group in Ukraine are only doing it for the money.

David Nuriyev, who is known as Ptahka, said on Russia's Mesto Vstrechi (Meeting Place) that he knew many who questioned the purpose of the war in Ukraine.

"To be honest I am talking to people and very few understand what we are doing there," he said. "Because [Ukrainians] did not cross our border, very few people understand."

Ptakha also appeared to question the "Soviet ideology" in which Russians "are fighting Germans," a cause which he said was "very doubtful." This was an apparent reference to one of the reasons given by Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion, namely to "denazify" Ukraine.

Mesto Vstrechi anchor Ivan Trushkin interrupted by asking if he could "film a video explaining what we are doing there?"

The rapper said: "I was there. I have many friends in the Wagner private mercenary group."

The group is headed by businessman and alleged war criminal Yevgeny Prigohzin, who has close ties to Putin. It is playing a key role in the bitter fight for Bakhmut and this week, its members reportedly broke through Ukrainian defensive lines in the eastern part of the town in the Donetsk oblast.

When a guest on the show asked Ptakha whether he understood why they had signed for the Wagner Group, the rapper replied, "they are making money. I will tell you honestly those who join Wagner are going there for the money."

"Do you really think they are going there for the flag?" he added.

The exchange was tweeted by Ukrainian internal affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko, who wrote how the rapper "says on Russian TV that people have no idea why Russia is at war with Ukraine. He adds that Wagner's mercenaries are fighting because they earn money that way (their salaries really are large)."

This sparked a lively Twitter debate about whether Ptakha's messaging was genuine candor or just part of the tightly controlled Kremlin narrative that is shown on Russian state television.

"They don't say unexpected things on Russian TV. If he did, he was allowed to," wrote one Twitter user, while another person tweeted, "It's always young people who are the bravest. I hope more of them feel able to speak out."

Ptakha is a former member of the group Centr and is known to be a supporter of Vladimir Putin, although he has criticized how the partial mobilization announced by the president in September was conducted.

In 2017, he recorded a video that mocked those who supported the now-jailed anti-corruption politician, Alexei Navalny. However, in 2018, Ptakha challenged Russian lawmakers about the cancellation of concerts due to concerns about the references in rap songs to drugs and violence, The Moscow Times reported.

Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin for comment.