Nine former prisoners granted early release from jail to fight for the Russian military in Ukraine escaped from a military camp where they were undergoing basic training in Russia’s southwestern Belgorod region, regional media outlet Pepel reported on Sunday.
According to the military, the soldiers escaped from a training ground in the city of Korocha over the weekend and are believed to be hiding out in the town of Shebekino, close to the border with Ukraine, or in the regional capital Belgorod itself.
According to police wanted posters, two of the escapees are convicted murderers, while another three were jailed for causing grievous bodily harm. Crimes committed by the remaining escapees range from kidnap and theft to fraud. A reward of 100,000 rubles (€1,060) was posted for information leading to their recapture.
Stanislav Nikichenko, whom those with information about the fugitive soldiers were asked to contact, told Mediazona on Monday that three of the men had returned to the base, and that the others were expected once “the money runs out, when the vodka has been drunk”.
Russia has been using prisoners to bolster its forces in Ukraine since late 2022. The controversial programme not only sees prisoners convicted of the most serious crimes freed from prison to fight in Ukraine, but also receiving pardons after relatively short stints at the front.