Nikolai Peskov, son of Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, in an interview with Russian media, said he served in Ukraine with Russia’s Wagner mercenary force.
“I considered it my duty… I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and watch friends and other people go there,” Peskov told the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.
“When I went there, I had to change my last name. Nobody really knew who I was,” he added. Peskov reportedly served for six months and received a medal of honour.
Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Friday that the Kremlin spokesperson’s son had served with the mercenary force, CNN reported. Children of Russia's elite and high-ranking government officials have received flak for failing to serve in Ukraine.
Having spent several years in London, Peskov speaks fluent English. He has worked as a correspondent for Russian state broadcaster RT, BBC reported. Both Peskov and his father are under US sanctions.
When President Putin announced 'partial mobilisation' in September, tens and thousands of men fled Russia to avoid being conscripted. Prigozhin said that Peskov underwent training for three weeks. "After that, when he left for Luhansk, it was necessary to expand the combined artillery battalion, and he was sent to join an Uragan [multiple rocket launcher] crew," Prigozhin said, adding that he "showed courage and heroism, just like all the others," BBC reported.