A Russian assassin who was released from prison to fight in the war in Ukraine, only to kill an elderly woman, has been released to return to the front a second time, according to the woman's relatives.
“Grandma's killer has escaped punishment for his crime – again – and gone off to fight in the war,” Yulia Bioskekh's granddaughter Anna Pekareva told the BBC.
In 2022, Ivan Russomakhn is released from prison, where he was serving a 14-year sentence for murder, to join Wagner's mercenary group.
He was later allowed to return home to the Vyatsky Polyany district of Kirov Oblast, Russia. There he attacked and killed 85-year-old Yulia in her own house.
The murder was one of several criminals released from prisons across Russia to join the Wagner Group.
In April this year, 29-year-old Russomakhn was found guilty of Yulia's rape and murder and sentenced to 22 years in a maximum-security prison, which was later increased to 23 years. The court noted that the killing “involved extreme brutality”.
But Anna says the prison governor has now informed the family that Rusumakhin was released on August 19 – just a week after his sentence began.
“My first reaction was terror. I've read the forensic reports and I know what this man did to my grandmother. It's great that he's been released again,” Anna says: “The truth. This is happening in the 21st century… There are no words to describe what is happening!”
An official document seen by the BBC, signed by the prison's governor, said the prisoner was released in connection with a specific Russian law allowing the military to send criminals to the front line. Allows recruitment.
This is the second time a convicted murderer has been released from prison to fight in Ukraine.
Shortly after the start of the full-scale offensive, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group began recruiting convicts from prisons to fight in Ukraine. If the prisoners agree to sign up, they will receive an official pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Thousands of rapists, murderers and other criminals, including Ivan Rusumakhin, were released from prison and sent to the front lines, where many were killed during brutal attacks on Ukrainian cities such as Bakhmut.
After Prigozhin's failed coup the previous year, when thousands of Wagner mercenaries marched on Moscow, the Russian military took over the de-registration of prisoners from prisons. The practice was formalized into a formal federal law in March of this year, and recruitment now appears to be intensifying.
Under the law, convicted felons who sign up to fight have their remaining sentences suspended for the duration of their military service. Some may even receive official pardons if they win awards, for example “bravery” on the battlefield.
The Russian embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment on the process of releasing dangerous criminals to fight in Ukraine.
Ukraine has also released some prisoners to fight at the front, although those convicted of murder or sex crimes are not eligible. Ukraine's Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysotska told the AP news agency earlier this year that 3,000 prisoners have joined the army so far.
This year's operation by Russian forces in Ukraine's Donbas region has depleted Moscow's reserves. The UK Ministry of Defense estimated that during the two months of the operation, Russia lost around 70,000 men – an average rate of 1,000 casualties per day.
Regular recruitment drive is also being intensified. In the past year, one-off payments to volunteer to fight have increased sharply. In some cases, men are offered up to 1.5 million rubles (£12,360) to sign up.
The Kremlin's willingness to release high-risk criminals like Rosumakhin and send them to war shows that the Russian military desperately needs more recruits.
“It is clear that there is not enough manpower,” says Anna.
“The authorities do not care about peaceful citizens if they allow people who have committed serious crimes to be acquitted and released from prison. This tells us that no one can feel safe in Russia. .
Anna says that Rusumakhin's release means her family is now in grave danger: “If he comes back, he will try to take revenge on us – for our efforts to ensure that he Life imprisonment should be given.
She says she wants to leave the country, and other family members will go into hiding.
“It's scary that he's not the only one. Even if he doesn't come back, how many other murderers and psychopaths are walking around?