Former Wagner sniper saves driver from burning car
Yevgeny Antonov pulled an unconscious driver from a burning car in Nizhny Tagil; it later emerged he is a former sniper with the Wagner private military company.
Apr 30, 2026 0
Yevgeny Antonov, a former Wagner PMC fighter, now teaches basic military training in Nizhny Tagil schools.
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A serious road traffic accident occurred on 4 February on Vostochnoye Shosse in Nizhny Tagil. A Mazda Familia was thrown into the oncoming lane, where it collided with another vehicle, after which a Lada Priora ended up in a snowdrift on the roadside. The car immediately burst into flames, and its driver was unconscious inside.
The injured driver suffered an extensive scalp avulsion, with part of the scalp torn off.
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The witness to the accident was 36-year-old Yevgeny Antonov, who, without hesitation, rushed to the burning car.
Yevgeny Antonov with his wife, who accompanied him during the incident.
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«It is my civic duty, I guess, I do not feel like a hero,» Yevgeny later explained. He noted that the doors were blocked by snow and he had to bend the hinges to reach the victim while the cabin filled with fire.
The rescuer believes that fate brought him to the accident scene at that moment.
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After pulling the driver out through the passenger seat, Antonov discovered he had an extensive scalp wound. «He was unconscious, I brought him around, diagnosed the victim with a scalp wound — quite extensive. Part of the scalp, as it turned out, was torn off. I got out my first-aid kit, a woman ran up with water. I washed the wound to see where to apply the bandage. And there, as they say, hands remember. I stopped the bleeding and watched over him until the ambulance arrived,» the rescuer recounted.
A video recording captured the aftermath of the accident at the scene.
While Yevgeny was administering first aid, other witnesses used shovels and fire extinguishers to put out the fire. Antonov himself was unharmed, and the driver of the other vehicle escaped with a bruised knee.
The man explains his presence at the scene as a chain of coincidences. «It was fate, that«s the only explanation. Because my wife and I happened to take this route — she asked to stop at a store, I said it was closed, but we decided to stop anyway. The store turned out to be closed, and we were already driving home,» Yevgeny shared.
The phrase «hands remember» is related to his military past. Yevgeny is a former squad commander and senior sniper of the Wagner private military company (PMC), who returned from the special operation two years ago. He now teaches basic military training in two schools in Nizhny Tagil, and in the near future plans to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defence and return to the front.
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