A former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, who is seeking asylum in Norway, pleaded guilty today to involvement in a brawl outside an Oslo bar and carrying a weapon in a public place.

Andrei Medvedev, 26, crossed the Russian-Norwegian border in January and has spoken publicly about the time he fought with Russian forces invading Ukraine.

Medvedev pleaded guilty to being involved in a fight outside an Oslo bar on February 22 and obstructing a police officer in the performance of his or her duty. He also pleaded guilty to possessing an airgun in a public place in a separate incident on March 14. He pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer, the most serious of the charges he faces, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

“He understands that he was out of control that night and consumed an excessive amount of alcohol and there was a fight with people outside the bar,” his lawyer Brynjulf ​​Risnes said of the February 22 brawl.

“He does not accept the charge of using violence against a police officer. There was a misunderstanding. He never touched the policeman.”

If convicted, Medvedev will not necessarily be deported from Norway. If an asylum seeker is convicted of a violent crime, they can still be granted temporary residency, immigration officials told Reuters.

At the same time, Medvedev continues to speak with Kripos, the Norwegian police agency responsible for war crimes investigations, about the time he fought with Wagner in Ukraine. Russia denies accusations of war crimes in that conflict.

“We wish to continue questioning him” as a witness, Kripos said in a statement to Reuters.