A former fighter from the Wagner mercenary group who was recruited from prison last year has been accused of killing a woman after returning home to the Far Eastern region of Primorye Krai from the Kremlin's ongoing war against Ukraine.
According to the Investigative Committee, the man, whose identity was not disclosed, confessed to the killing of the 32-year-old woman, leaving her in a car, and then setting the vehicle on fire near the village of Anuchino on October 5.
Local media reported that the man was recruited by Wagner in December last year from a penal colony where he was serving a prison term of 10 years and 10 months for murder, theft, and robbery. After completing his required tour of duty fighting in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine -- convicts are promised clemency in their contracts with Wagner if they fulfill a six-month commitment -- he returned to his native Primorye Krai with three medals in July of this year.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
It is not the first instance of former Wagner mercenaries recruited from jails and prisons across Russia to be accused of committing serious crimes after completing tours of duty in Ukraine.
In its recent report, the Agentstvo (Agency) Telegram channel said that as of October 4, 27 people had been killed by former military personnel who returned home from the war in Ukraine, in 20 incidents.
According to Agentstvo's report, 12 of the registered deadly incidents, with 19 victims, involved former Wagner mercenaries.
The number of crimes committed by former Wagner recruits and other former military personnel have been on rise after the first six-month contracts started to expire and the military personnel began returning home from Ukraine.
Courts in Russia tend to hand mitigated sentences to such persons, citing their "patriotism" and the "contributions" they have made to Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
Wagner's late leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in June that 32,000 former inmates recruited by his group from penitentiaries had returned home after being granted clemency as part of their remuneration for taking part in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.