Russian Rampage: Ex-convict Freed by Putin to Fight in Ukraine Kills Six Before Setting Victims' Homes on Fire
Aug. 3 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
An ex-convict who Vladimir Putin freed from prison to fight in Ukraine reportedly went on a murderous rampage and killed six people this week after returning to Russia, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Russian law enforcement reported that an ex-convict fighter went on a rampage with an accomplice and killed six people in the northern Russian village of Derevyannoye on Tuesday.
The bodies of five men and one woman were found in two separate houses that had been set on fire, Knewz.com reported. The victims suffered fatal stab wounds and serious burn injuries.
The Russian authorities have since identified the killer as Igor Sofonov, 38. Sofonov reportedly served in Putin's war in Ukraine and was released from jail upon his return.
His alleged accomplice, Maxim Bochkarev, 37, was also a former prisoner with a history of serious crimes.
Both men have been detained for two months on suspicion of murder, according to Knewz.com. A video released this week showed the two suspects being taken into court by armed police, where they were placed in custody.
Russian investigators suspected that the houses were set on fire in an attempt to hide the devastating massacre.
The victims in one house were identified as Konstantin Lonin, 42, Dmitry Lonin, 47, Vladimir Sergeenko, 76, and a woman named Svetlana, 38.
The deceased bodies of Vladimir Tereshchenko, 70, and his son Artyom, 39, were found in the second house shortly after the attacks.
Artyom's children reportedly escaped from the massacre by jumping from windows, at which point they ran to their grandfather in a neighboring property. Unfortunately, their grandfather was killed when he approached the suspects in an effort to save his 39-year-old son.
It is currently unclear whether Sofonov was serving in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary army Wagner Group or Putin's regular army during his time fighting in Ukraine, but reports suggested that he was released and allowed to return home to Russia sometime this past spring.
Both Sofonov and Bochkarev were reported to have previous convictions for murder, rape, robbery, and drugs. Both suspects were allegedly intoxicated when they were detained.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Putin tasked Prigozhin with recruiting Russian convicts to fight in Ukraine before Prigozhin was forced to flee to Belarus after launching a coup against Moscow on June 24.
Ukrainian Lieutenant General Sir Simon Mayall confirmed that Putin was “clearing out” Russian jails last year in an effort to make up for the scores of Russian troops he was losing in Ukraine.
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“You need well-trained numbers of motivated infantrymen to take and hold ground, it’s an immutable rule of conflict and war,” the lieutenant general said at the time.
“And the Russians are running out,” he continued. “From what we can understand they’re clearing out the jails, they’re paying lots of people in the east of the country, very very poor people, it’s always been a way of recruiting for the armed forces.”
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