Killer of elderly woman released for second time to fight in Ukraine

A Russian killer who was released from prison to fight in the war in Ukraine and then killed an elderly woman has been released a second time to return to the front, according to the woman's relatives.

“Grandma's killer escaped punishment for his crime – once again – and went to war to fight,” Anna Pekareva, Yulia Byuskikh's granddaughter, told the BBC.

In 2022, Ivan Rossomakhin was released from prison, where he was serving a 14-year sentence for murder, to join the Wagner mercenary group.

He was later allowed to return to his homeland, the Vyatskiye Polyany district in the Russian Kirov Oblast. There he attacked and killed 85-year-old Julia in her own home.

The murder was one of several committed by criminals who had been released from prisons across Russia to join the Wagner group.

In April this year, 29-year-old Rossomakhin was found guilty of raping and murdering Yulia and sentenced to 22 years in a maximum security prison, later increased to 23 years. The court found that the murder was “associated with extreme brutality.”

But Anna says the prison warden has since informed the family that Rossomakhin was released on August 19 – just a week after his sentence began.

“My first reaction was horror. I have read the forensic reports and I know what this person did to my grandmother. It is outrageous that he was released,” says Anna, adding: “The fact that this is happening in the 21st century… there are no words that can describe what is happening!”

An official document signed by the prison director and seen by the BBC says the prisoner was released under a special Russian law that allows the military to recruit convicted convicts for service on the front lines.

This is the second time the convicted murderer has been released from prison to fight in Ukraine.

Shortly after the large-scale invasion began, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group began recruiting prison inmates to fight in Ukraine. If the prisoners agreed to report, they would receive an official pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of rapists, murderers and other criminals, including Ivan Rossomakhin, were released from prison and sent to the front, where many were killed in brutal attacks on Ukrainian cities such as Bakhmut.

After Prigozhin's failed mutiny last year, in which thousands of Wagner mercenaries marched on Moscow, the Russian military took over the recruitment of prison inmates. The practice was formalized in an official federal law in March this year, and recruitment now appears to be intensifying.

Under this law, convicted criminals who volunteer for combat are suspended from the remainder of their sentences for the duration of their military service. Some can even be officially pardoned if they win awards, such as for “bravery” on the battlefield.

The Russian Embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment on the practice of releasing dangerous criminals to fight in Ukraine.

Ukraine has also released some prisoners for front-line duty, although people convicted of murder or sexual offenses are not deployed. Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysotska told the AP news agency earlier this year that up to 3,000 prisoners had joined the military.

A fierce offensive by Russian troops in Ukraine's Donbass region has depleted Moscow's reserves this year. The British Ministry of Defence estimates that Russia lost up to 70,000 men during the two-month operation – an average casualty rate of around 1,000 per day.

Recruitment drives are also intensifying. Over the past year, one-off payments for volunteer fighters have risen sharply, with men in some cases being offered up to 1.5 million rubles (£12,360) if they sign up.

The Kremlin's willingness to release highly dangerous criminals like Rossomakhin and send them to war shows that the Russian military urgently needs new recruits.

“It is obvious that there are not enough workers,” says Anna.

“The authorities don't give a damn about peaceful civilians when they allow people who have committed serious crimes to be rehabilitated and released from prison. This shows us that no one can feel safe in Russia.”

Anna says that Rossomakhin's release now puts her family in extreme danger: “If he comes back, he will try to take revenge on us for our efforts to get him a life sentence.”

She says she wants to leave the country and other family members are going into hiding.

“It's terrifying that he's not the only one. Even if he doesn't come back, how many murderers and psychopaths are out there?”