Russian Gets False Death Certificate To Avoid Returning To War In Ukraine

Zorigto Arabzhayev was mobilized and sent to Ukraine in November 2022 and returned on leave in the spring. (illustrative photo)

A man from the Siberian region of Buryatia was sentenced to five years in prison after it turned out that he attempted to avoid returning to the war in Ukraine by acquiring a false death certificate, RFE/RL has learned. Zorigto Arabzhayev was mobilized and sent to Ukraine in November 2022 and returned on leave in the spring. When military officials came to his home after he failed to return to his unit, his son told them he had died and showed them a death certificate that turned out to be fake upon further investigation. Arabzhayev was subsequently arrested. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.