Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has addressed a controversial decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to pardon a man serving a 17-year sentence for the murder of his former partner in recognition of his decision to enlist to fight in Ukraine.
Peskov told reporters on Friday that in addition to the process outlined in legislation for pardoning individuals who have been convicted of a crime, it is also possible for individuals to earn a pardon “with their blood on the battlefield, in assault brigades, under a hail of bullets and missiles”.
The individual in question was Vladislav Kanyus, who brutally murdered his 23-year-old ex-girlfriend Vera Pekhteleva over the course of three hours in 2020. Kanyus was due to serve 17 years in prison for his crime, but was released from prison to fight in Ukraine. He was subsequently pardoned and is now a free man.