Russian soldiers returning from Ukraine have killed 107 people in Russia since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country more than two years ago, independent news outlet Vorstka reported on Thursday, citing media reports and court documents.
Layout said it counted violent crime convictions for 91 former prisoners pardoned after fighting in Ukraine and 84 regular army soldiers returning from the front.
It is estimated that 76 people were killed by returning soldiers, 18 died from grievous bodily harm, 11 died in car accidents, and two more died from drugs they were forced to use.
Another 100 people were seriously wounded by returning soldiers but survived.
In murder cases, courts sentenced former prisoners to maximum security prison terms of 6 to 11 years, and regular army soldiers to 7.5 to 10 years. The sentences were increased to 22 years and 20 years, respectively, to run concurrently.
The publication said it believes the actual number of crimes committed by returning soldiers is likely higher because courts do not publish all cases on their websites and the media does not always mention their military experience.
“Verstka” stated that its calculations did not include soldiers who, as it could not verify, had fought in Ukraine over the past two years.
In total, “Verstka” reported that it was able to identify 142 criminal cases involving murder, infliction of grievous bodily harm, traffic violations and forced drug use, in addition to 34 known cases.
