Whelan declares providing intelligence to Western authorities, which he obtained from fellow combatants engaged in Ukraine's conflict.
"The individuals from the camp that moved to the battlefront would keep in touch with us. I'd relay their messages to the four nations, which include the USA, UK, Canada, and Ireland, countries I hold citizenship in," Whelan shared on 'Face the Nation'.
He further explained that they were able to contact former prisoners via 'disposable' phones, procured even within the Russian labor camp in Mordovia.
"Via unlawful cell phones," Whelan stated. "Yes, we had disposable phones."
He mentioned that the guards turned a blind eye in exchange for items like cigarettes.
"A Russian guard earns around three to four hundred dollars a month. Offer him a carton of cigarettes, and you can pretty much do whatever you want," Whelan added.
Throughout his imprisonment, officials from the four nations would frequently visit Whelan for welfare checks and updates on the attempts to secure his release.
Whelan shared that 450 individuals from his camp were drafted to fight in Ukraine due to mercenary groups' recruitment drives, such as the Wagner Group, known for enlisting thousands of prisoners from Russian jails to bolster Russia's ruthless invasion. The majority of his camp's population consisted of young men from Central Asian nations, like Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, according to Whelan.
"From my camp, 450 were sent. I knew them all. Some are deceased, some have lost limbs. They're all traumatized. They endured a harrowing experience," he said. "They were used to navigate minefields, they were used as human shields, they were sent ahead to attract enemy fire. That's what Russia's doing with these people. And they're young. Putin is squandering a generation of his youth in Ukraine for nothing."
Whelan, a former US Marine, was freed this year as part of a wide-ranging prisoner exchange between the USA and Russia. A total of eight individuals were handed over to the Kremlin in exchange for the release of 16 detainees, including four Americans, in the significant swap that culminated from years of intricate behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the USA, Russia, and Germany.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.
Despite the political tensions between the four nations and Russia, Whelan advocated for continued efforts in politics to secure the release of those drafted to fight in Ukraine.
The Wagner Group, a controversial mercenary group, played a significant role in recruiting prisoners from Russian jails, including Whelan's camp, into their operations, highlighting the politically sensitive political landscape in the region.
