Ex-convict who fought for Putin ‘rants and kills six’ in Russia before setting fire to their homes after being freed from prison by dictator as reward for war effort against Ukraine

An ex-detained fighter in Putin’s war went on a rampage with an accomplice who killed six people after being released from prison, police in Russia say.

The bodies of five men and a woman with stab wounds and severe burns were found in two separate fire-bombed houses in a village in the northern Russian region of Karelia.

Igor Sofonov, 38, a hardened criminal, was recruited to serve in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

His alleged accomplice – who had also served jail time for serious crimes – was named as Maxim Bochkarev, 37.

Both men are initially detained for two months on suspicion of murder, according to the Russian Commission of Inquiry. A video shows them being taken to court by armed police, where they are taken into pre-trial detention.

Sofonov (pictured in gray), a seasoned criminal, had been recruited to serve in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine

The bodies of five men and a woman with stab wounds and severe burns were found in two separate fire-bombed houses in a village in the northern Russian region of Karelia.

Bochkarev and Sofonov were previously convicted of murder, rape, robbery and drugs.

Russians have expressed deep alarm that former convict combatants in the war have been pardoned by Putin as a reward for fighting and then allowed to go home after serving at the front.

Investigators suspect the two houses were set on fire to cover up the carnage, with footage of the homes burnt out after the fire.

Among those killed in a house in Derevyannoye village were Konstantin Lonin, 42, his brother Dmitry, 47, and Vladimir Sergeenko, 76.

In the same house was a woman alone named Svetlana, 38.

In the other house, on Friendship Lane, the bodies of Vladimir Tereshchenko, 70, and his son Artyom, 39, were found.

Artyom’s children had jumped out of the windows when the intruders broke in and went to alarm their grandfather in a neighboring house.

The children are now safe, but their grandfather was killed along with his son when he later arrived at the scene.

Sofonov’s alleged accomplice – who had also served jail time for serious crimes – was named as Maxim Bochkarev (pictured), 37

Sofonov and Bochkarev (pictured together) are initially detained for two months on suspicion of murder, according to the Russian Commission of Inquiry.

Investigators suspect the two houses were set on fire to cover up the massacre, with footage of the houses destroyed after the fire

Among those killed in a house in Derevyannoye village were Konstantin Lonin, 42, his brother Dmitry, 47, and Vladimir Sergeenko, 76

In the same house was a woman alone named Svetlana, 38

In the other house, on Friendship Lane, the bodies of Vladimir Tereshchenko, 70, and his son Artyom, 39, were found.

“According to the preliminary version, the cause of the incident was a long-standing conflict on domestic grounds,” Karelia News reports.

It is unclear whether Sofonov served for the Wagner Group mercenary army – as some reports suggest – or for Putin’s regular army.

He was released from the war and allowed to go home in the spring, reports said.

Both suspects were reported to be in a state of “extreme drunkenness” when detained, and the accomplice was described as a “strong, tall, wiry man.”