According to an analysis of court rulings conducted by the exiled news outlet Vyorstka, over 1,000 individuals have either been killed or injured by Russian soldiers returning from the war in Ukraine since the conflict began nearly four years ago.
The report indicates that at least 551 people lost their lives in incidents involving veterans of the so-called “special military operation.” Among those fatalities, 274 were homicides, 163 resulted from severe injuries, 78 occurred in traffic accidents, and another 36 were related to various criminal activities, including drug offenses.
Notably, more than half of the homicide victims, totaling 163, were killed by former inmates who had participated in the conflict in Ukraine.
Additionally, another 465 individuals sustained serious injuries but survived, with many left with lasting disabilities, and again, former prisoners represented a majority of the wounded, totaling 252 cases.
The majority of these incidents were linked to domestic conflicts, with about half involving alcohol or drugs. Often, the victims were either family members or acquaintances of the offenders.
Former soldiers faced prosecution under several criminal charges, including attempted murder, serious bodily harm, excessive self-defense, traffic violations, and murder.
In the review of over 700 judicial decisions conducted by Vyorstka, fewer than 10% did not consider the involvement in the Ukraine war as a mitigating circumstance. In nearly 90% of the cases, courts cited military service honors, combat-veteran status, injuries, and related distinctions as reasons for imposing lighter sentences.
Almost 25% of rulings also mentioned the “unlawful” or “immoral” behavior of victims as justification for leniency in sentencing.
Judges often disregarded alcohol use as a significant factor; in 486 cases involving intoxication, they failed to recognize substance use in 326 instances.
Vyorstka highlighted that the actual extent of crimes committed by returning soldiers may be considerably greater since military garrison courts have largely ceased to publish rulings related to such cases since the onset of the war.
Moreover, courts frequently redact identifying information or remove details about defendants’ military service, and in some cases, rulings have been deleted after release.
Currently, the number of returning veterans is relatively low, with Russian authorities reporting that no more than 140,000 service members have transitioned to civilian life, while President Vladimir Putin stated in September that over 700,000 Russian troops are still active in Ukraine.
