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Convicts, including assassins sent to fight for Russia in Ukraine, have been officially pardoned for their crimes after being seriously injured on the front lines.
Stanislav Bogdanov, 35, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for murdering a magistrate when he agreed to fight for the Wagner mercenary group, was filmed being pardoned after dropping his right leg from the knee down. lost.
He was pardoned alongside Andrey Arteev, 35, a mugger who also lost his leg, and Rustam Borovkov, 31, a hijacker who lost his right arm.
Meanwhile, Russia has confirmed that five mobilized soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, the first known to have died after Putin began drafting men three weeks ago.
Stanislav Bogdanov, 35 (circled left) is a convicted murderer who went to fight for Wagner in Ukraine and got his leg shot, meaning he has been pardoned and can go free
The soldiers, who were not named, came from the city of Chelyabinsk near the border with Kazakhstan, a local outlet 74.ru reported.
“Unfortunately, the military commission has confirmed the information about the deaths of five South Urals men,” the local governor’s office said.
Meanwhile, Russian state media also published footage of four soldiers being pardoned after being wounded.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man dubbed Putin’s chief because he provides catering to the Kremlin, offers prisoners a pardon in exchange for six months fighting with his Wagner mercenary group in Ukraine.
Filmed in prisons, he warns men that the only way out of his private army is to retreat or into a coffin.
Bogdanov was among those who came forward after he was convicted ten years ago for beating to death magistrate Sergei Zhiganov in the city of Veliky Novgorod while trying to steal bank cards.
Bogdanov (circled right) is pictured next to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin (center) and his fellow-forgave fighters
Also pardoned were Andrey Arteev, 35 (front left), a mugger who also lost his leg, and Rustam Borovkov, 31 (back right), a hijacker who lost his right arm.
He explained how he and his comrades came under fire from a Ukrainian tank while trying to hold a position.
One of his fellow soldiers was shot by the tank, and the second shot mutilated his leg, causing him to bleed to death.
But other soldiers came to his rescue, he explained: “Thanks to the guys who got me out and didn’t leave me. They risked their lives to save mine. I am very grateful.
Explaining why he went to war, Bogdanov added: “I wanted to try to change my life. This only happens once in a lifetime.
“Maybe I was created for something else, and not just to serve a sentence and spend the rest of my life there. The training was really tough.’
Another convicted Andrey Arteev, 35, had been jailed for theft, robbery and extortion, and was about to receive a five-year prison sentence.
He denied being “cannon fodder” on the front, but admitted he had been injured by an exploding mine.
“My leg was torn off,” he said. “I survived, that’s the main thing.
Stanislav Bogdanov (left) and Vladimir Gutman (right) agreed to exchange their prison sentences in exchange for six months on the front lines in Ukraine
“I’m so grateful to the guys who responded quickly, applied a tourniquet, gave me an anesthetic and helped me out.”
He said, like Bogdanov, that he would have stayed with the Wagner group without his injury. “I found a family,” he said.
An unseen official in a video from Prigozhin’s Ria Fan media outlet hands out pardons and military awards to the convicts.
“You’ve earned this grace with your blood and sweat — and your heroism,” he said.
Rustam Borovkov, 31, who was serving 13 years for theft and hijacking, was also pardoned, who lost his right arm.
All prisoners recruited as fighters and surviving six months will be pardoned under the Putin settlement.