13.03.2026
The Kremlin has opened a “Pandora’s box”. An unprecedented increase in the number of crimes committed by soldiers and officers of the Russian army has been recorded on the territory of the aggressor country. War criminals who have returned home are already terrorizing their compatriots. At the same time, they are completely confident in their impunity – and there are reasons for this.
Read about what is happening in the Russian Federation now in the material on OBOZ.UA.
Boomerang blow
Support for the “liberators” and their widespread heroization hit the Russians hard. During the full-scale war, crime among the military increased by 421%. And these are still incomplete statistics.
But the most interesting thing is that such figures were announced by a Russian military serviceman, a participant in the war against Ukraine, and a candidate of legal sciences, associate professor Bulat Tugutov (he is known in the Russian Federation for his teaching activities at the East Siberian branch of the Russian State University of Justice).
Tugutov analyzed open criminal statistics for 2020-2024 and recorded an unprecedented increase in crimes among the military – from 3,248 to 13,674 cases, that is, more than four times.
Even more telling are the data by crime category: the number of murders increased by 1,117%, drug trafficking by 405%, serious bodily harm by 389%, and rape by 220%. Despite the fact that there are no complete statistics for 2025 yet, the occupying lawyer does not predict any improvements.
Tugutov explained this explosive growth by the high concentration of people in a limited area, the heterogeneity of the contingent (a mixture of professional military personnel, mobilized personnel, contract soldiers, and prisoners), and the use of alcohol and drugs. But he remained silent about the fact that the vast majority of “heroes of the SVO” avoid responsibility for crimes committed on the territory of the Russian Federation. And commit them again.
Everyone to war
As a result of changes in Russian legislation, not only convicted criminals, but also those detained on suspicion (those who are in pre-trial detention centers during the investigation) can sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and go to war. Thus, both first-time offenders and rapists and murderers with a long criminal record are effectively released.
During four years of full-scale war, more than 150,000 prisoners (including even maniacs ) were sent to wage war.
Currently, 308,000 people are in Russian colonies (a historic minimum), and in 2021 there were 475,000. In addition, a record low figure was recorded in pre-trial detention centers – 89,000 people are currently held there.
The figures were announced by Vladimir Davydov, the first deputy chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. He cynically called such a sharp reduction the result of a “course to humanize legislation.” And as a result, Russians are already shaking from what is happening. No, not in Ukraine, but at home.
Here are just a few striking examples that abound in the criminal chronicle of the aggressor country.
Kaliningrad region
Oleksiy Hopto, a 50-year-old resident of Neman, was twice convicted of murder. In 2017, he was given 12 years in prison, but in the colony he signed a contract and in the summer of 2023 was already at the front.
When he returned from the war zone, he had already killed his wife. He… didn’t like her behavior.
Buryatia
21-year-old serviceman Lev Zharkoy went rogue three times: once for almost a year. During another “rogue” he attacked a woman to steal her car. He shot her with a pneumatic gun, and then beat her.
The garrison court in Ulan-Ude sentenced him to 14 years in a maximum-security colony. But there is no doubt that he will get out of prison.
Rostov region
In Volgodonsk, a 26-year-old occupier who had returned from the war killed a 38-year-old local resident. On the day of the incident, Vasyl Shapovalov was drunk and started clinging to a stranger. As a result, he stabbed himself in the heart.
He was previously wanted for fraud.
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
Here, a previously twice-convicted occupier was detained for a new murder.
In 2020, Viktor Savvinov was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the murder of a woman. Later, from the colony, he went to the front, and after the end of his contract, he returned to Yakutia and lived in the village of Tumul.
In the fall of 2024, he received a new term of 20 years in prison. On the “big holiday” of February 23, the drunken occupier walked around the village and complained that he was not being given due respect as a “hero” who had returned from the war. And he killed a 34-year-old acquaintance, as well as a 64-year-old teacher. After that, he tried to cover his tracks, but failed.
In July of last year, Savvinov re-signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and left the colony to go to war again. In September, he ended up in the hospital after being wounded, from where he escaped and returned to Yakutia.
Now he has been detained on suspicion of… a fourth murder. On the territory of the Russian Federation.
The scale is impressive.
Russian human rights activists are sounding the alarm because dangerous criminals are going unpunished – the new contract is an indulgence for them.
In total, tens of thousands of criminals were effectively released from prison in the Russian Federation last year . In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 25,300 cases were suspended.
And it turns out a vicious circle. He killed in Russia, killed in Ukraine, returned home – and… killed again. And again he voluntarily went to war.
The Russians’ only hope is to never encounter such “liberators” on their path – Ukrainian soldiers, who are steadily grinding down the personnel of the occupation forces . However, this comes at a high price.
Meanwhile, Russians are just crying on social media, and in the vast majority of cases, anonymously.