#Intelligence #report #Russian #soldiers
The intelligence report notes that Mediazona reported that
In 2023, 116 Russian soldiers were convicted of murder, a figure nearly 900% higher than a year earlier.
In 2022, 13 judgments were handed down in such cases, and in 2021, 11.
It was recalled that The New York Times, quoting Olga Romanova, head of Russia Behind Bars, previously wrote that 15,000 pardoned prisoners returned to Russia. As we reported several times before, first the Wagner group and then the Russian army provided convicts with the opportunity to regain their freedom in exchange for their military service and not have to serve their sentences. The Russian media Vertska reported that in 2023, 190 criminal cases were re-tried against former convicts, including 20 for murder or attempted murder.
According to the intelligence report, the high number of murders committed by active-duty and veteran Russian soldiers is likely due in part to the long-term, chronically poor mental health of these people as a result of the war. Alcoholism and drug use caused by low morale and boredom are also likely to contribute to crime.
Cover image source: Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
