Russian murderer joins Wagner, kills again and is released for the second time

According to court documents, Rossomakhin committed this first murder in October 2019 in Kirov, when he drunkenly killed a woman with whom he was arguing.

During his first prison sentence, in September 2022, Rossomakhin was recruited by the Wagner mercenary group, which, according to Travmpunkt, accepted convicts into its ranks.

The human rights group said Rossomakhin had returned to his native Kirov after his stint at the front.

A local court found that after his return, Rossomakhin killed a second time by entering the home of an 85-year-old woman with a bladed weapon in March 2023 and murdering and raping her.

Rossomakhin was sentenced to a new prison term of 22 years, which was extended to 23 years, according to Travmpunkt.

However, on August 19, he was released for a second time after being recruited by the Russian Defense Ministry, according to documents republished by independent Russian media on Telegram.

The BBC reported that the document was signed by the director of the pre-trial detention center where Rossomakhin was being held.

Travmpunkt, which represents the relatives of the 85-year-old woman who was the man's second murder victim, said on Monday that prison officials had informed the family of Rossomakhin's release.

According to Travmpunkt, he is still legally obliged to pay the victim's family two million rubles, or about $22,000.

The group added that Rossomakhin served less than six months of his 23-year sentence before being shipped back to Ukraine.

“My first reaction was fear,” Anna Pekareva, the granddaughter of the murdered woman Yulia Byuskikh, told the BBC. “I have read the forensic reports and I know what this man did to my grandmother. It is outrageous that he was released.”

Pekareva told the news agency that she was afraid Rossomakhin would seek revenge on her family for pushing for a life sentence against him in court.

Press teams for the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment, sent outside regular business hours.

Russia initially recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine through the “Wagner Group.” But this practice was soon restricted because the prisoners feared they would be mistreated at the front.

The Kremlin pardons some prison recruits if they show bravery or fight long enough. Wagner claimed in March 2023 that only less than 1% of the roughly 5,000 men pardoned had reoffended.

The Russian Ministry of Defense took over Wagner's prison recruitment campaign in early 2023. British intelligence estimates that about 10,000 prisoners came forward in April of that year alone.

Ukraine also recruits prisoners to fight against Russia, but does not accept prisoners convicted of rape or multiple murders.

Both Kyiv and Moscow are struggling to maintain the troop levels needed at the front, as Ukraine cracks down on men trying to flee the fighting and the Kremlin continues to increase pay supplements for army volunteers.