Society
War Comes Home:
How Returning Veterans Are Driving a Surge in Violent Crime in Russia
February 6, 2026
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Daria Talanova
CEDAR
A research by CEDAR for the Russia Program shows that nearly 8,000 veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine have been convicted of civilian crimes since 2022.
On a Saturday evening in April 2024, the Ramazanov family was asleep in their apartment in Kizlyar, Dagestan. The parents, Arsen and Saniyat, were in the bedroom with their younger daughter. Their older daughter was sleeping on a couch in the living room. At around 1:30 in the morning, their neighbor – a Ukraine war veteran – entered the apartment through an unlocked door. He went straight to the bedroom and stabbed Arsen in the chest, aiming for the heart.
Arsen was fortunate: the knife broke. The attacker ran to the kitchen to grab another knife while the couple chased after him. A struggle followed in the hallway. Arsen fell but managed to grab the attacker’s legs. Saniyat wrested the knife from his hands. The man fled the scene. Saniyat called an ambulance. Arsen lost consciousness from his wounds.
The attacker had been the Ramazanovs’ neighbor for years, frequently visiting them and wishing them happy holidays. He had been recruited from a prison where he was serving a sentence for property damage. In February 2025, he was declared legally insane, diagnosed with “organic personality and behavioral disorder.” Before the attack he had been heard shouting that he was a “special military operation veteran” and that “Ukrainians live here and need to be killed.” The court ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment. The Ramazanovs did not try to collect damages.
The attempted murder in Kizlyar is one of many crimes committed by those returning home from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Since 2022, approximately 8,000 veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine – including contract soldiers, mobilized troops and Wagner mercenaries – have been convicted of civilian crimes, according to an investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe. Around 7,000 of them were veterans who had already returned home, with the rest being active-duty military personnel at the time they committed their offenses, because of which they were tried in military courts.
According to official data from the Presidential Administration published in late June, 137,000 military personnel have returned home. This suggests that roughly 6% of returning veterans have been convicted in criminal cases. The number of these crimes has increased each year since the start of the war. In 2022, around 350 cases were identified. In 2023, there were 2,500 convictions. By 2024, the figure exceeded 4,700. For 2025, the data currently indicates 1,100 convictions (though not all court decisions have been published yet).
Violent crime and domestic violence
Nikolai and Daria Merzlye from Furmanovo in Ivanovo Region met online, moved in together and married two months later. After the wedding, Nikolai, a veteran of the war in Ukraine, began drinking heavily. Arguments escalated into aggression. Daria contacted the police three times over threats and beatings. “I’m going to stab you, I’ll cut your head off,” Nikolai once shouted, waving a knife at her. It was only through the police that Daria learned her husband had multiple prior convictions, including for murder. No real help came.
Daria eventually moved in with her mother, taking with her three children from a previous marriage. Nikolai tried to reconcile. In May 2024, they encountered each other on a city-center street in broad daylight. Nikolai, already intoxicated, dropped to his knees in front of her. When she cursed at him, Nikolai pulled out a folding tourist knife and began stabbing her. His mother-in-law, who tried to pull him away, was thrown onto the asphalt. The two women sustained around 20 stab wounds between them. They were saved when children alerted shoppers at a nearby store.
Arsen was fortunate: the knife broke. The attacker ran to the kitchen to grab another knife while the couple chased after him. A struggle followed in the hallway. Arsen fell but managed to grab the attacker’s legs. Saniyat wrested the knife from his hands. The man fled the scene. Saniyat called an ambulance. Arsen lost consciousness from his wounds.
The attacker had been the Ramazanovs’ neighbor for years, frequently visiting them and wishing them happy holidays. He had been recruited from a prison where he was serving a sentence for property damage. In February 2025, he was declared legally insane, diagnosed with “organic personality and behavioral disorder.” Before the attack he had been heard shouting that he was a “special military operation veteran” and that “Ukrainians live here and need to be killed.” The court ordered compulsory psychiatric treatment. The Ramazanovs did not try to collect damages.
The attempted murder in Kizlyar is one of many crimes committed by those returning home from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Since 2022, approximately 8,000 veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine – including contract soldiers, mobilized troops and Wagner mercenaries – have been convicted of civilian crimes, according to an investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe. Around 7,000 of them were veterans who had already returned home, with the rest being active-duty military personnel at the time they committed their offenses, because of which they were tried in military courts.
According to official data from the Presidential Administration published in late June, 137,000 military personnel have returned home. This suggests that roughly 6% of returning veterans have been convicted in criminal cases. The number of these crimes has increased each year since the start of the war. In 2022, around 350 cases were identified. In 2023, there were 2,500 convictions. By 2024, the figure exceeded 4,700. For 2025, the data currently indicates 1,100 convictions (though not all court decisions have been published yet).
Violent crime and domestic violence
Nikolai and Daria Merzlye from Furmanovo in Ivanovo Region met online, moved in together and married two months later. After the wedding, Nikolai, a veteran of the war in Ukraine, began drinking heavily. Arguments escalated into aggression. Daria contacted the police three times over threats and beatings. “I’m going to stab you, I’ll cut your head off,” Nikolai once shouted, waving a knife at her. It was only through the police that Daria learned her husband had multiple prior convictions, including for murder. No real help came.
Daria eventually moved in with her mother, taking with her three children from a previous marriage. Nikolai tried to reconcile. In May 2024, they encountered each other on a city-center street in broad daylight. Nikolai, already intoxicated, dropped to his knees in front of her. When she cursed at him, Nikolai pulled out a folding tourist knife and began stabbing her. His mother-in-law, who tried to pull him away, was thrown onto the asphalt. The two women sustained around 20 stab wounds between them. They were saved when children alerted shoppers at a nearby store.
In total, more than 900 war veterans have been prosecuted for violent crimes, according to the current data. At least 423 victims have died, including in fatal traffic accidents. Among the victims are 52 cases of domestic violence involving partners, children, mothers, grandmothers and sisters.
Open data shows that veterans commit an abnormally high number of murders and serious assaults compared to the overall male population. Veterans are prosecuted for murder or attempted murder 2.5 times more often than average men and twice as often for assaults resulting in grievous bodily harm.
This statistically significant disparity in conviction rates looks to have two explanations, both of which appear to apply. On the one hand, there are indications that not all minor offenses committed by veterans reach court. Veterans are prosecuted under Article 115 (intentional infliction of minor bodily harm) or Article 119 (threats of murder) roughly half as often as other defendants. This raises the suspicion that less serious crimes involving veterans may simply fail to reach court as they are easier to conceal. On the other hand, veterans may indeed commit homicide and serious violence more frequently than others. A postwar surge in murder rates is a well-documented phenomenon, observed after major conflicts throughout the 20th century.
Open data shows that veterans commit an abnormally high number of murders and serious assaults compared to the overall male population. Veterans are prosecuted for murder or attempted murder 2.5 times more often than average men and twice as often for assaults resulting in grievous bodily harm.
This statistically significant disparity in conviction rates looks to have two explanations, both of which appear to apply. On the one hand, there are indications that not all minor offenses committed by veterans reach court. Veterans are prosecuted under Article 115 (intentional infliction of minor bodily harm) or Article 119 (threats of murder) roughly half as often as other defendants. This raises the suspicion that less serious crimes involving veterans may simply fail to reach court as they are easier to conceal. On the other hand, veterans may indeed commit homicide and serious violence more frequently than others. A postwar surge in murder rates is a well-documented phenomenon, observed after major conflicts throughout the 20th century.
Repeat offenders and presidential pardons
As early as summer 2022, the recruitment of men serving time in jail became public knowledge. Initially, the process was overseen by Wagner PMC and personally by Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a video filmed at a jail in Mari El, he promised inmates a pardon after six months of fighting.
In February 2023, Prigozhin announced he had halted recruitment. Soon afterward, Prigozhin himself was no more. The Kremlin, however, did not abandon the idea of sending prisoners to the front lines. In summer 2023, Putin confirmed he would sign decrees granting pardons to convicts who sign up for the war. A year later, the Duma passed legislation exempting individuals from criminal liability if they signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
Many of those pardoned had already been convicted of violent crimes. Some had been convicted more than once. In September 2023, an Oleg Grechko from Zavolzhye, Nizhny Novgorod Region, twice convicted of murder, again appeared before a court. Without serving his latest sentence, he went to Ukraine to fight, likely as part of Wagner PMC. Six months later, Grechko returned home and moved into his sister’s house. After an argument, he doused the sleeping woman with gasoline and burned her alive.
With each year of the war, such cases have grown more common. At least 2,139 convicted Ukraine war veterans had previous convictions. Of them, 656 were pardoned by presidential decree after being let out of jail to fight in Ukraine. This means that 27% of convicted veterans had a criminal record prior to their most recent offense.
As early as summer 2022, the recruitment of men serving time in jail became public knowledge. Initially, the process was overseen by Wagner PMC and personally by Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a video filmed at a jail in Mari El, he promised inmates a pardon after six months of fighting.
In February 2023, Prigozhin announced he had halted recruitment. Soon afterward, Prigozhin himself was no more. The Kremlin, however, did not abandon the idea of sending prisoners to the front lines. In summer 2023, Putin confirmed he would sign decrees granting pardons to convicts who sign up for the war. A year later, the Duma passed legislation exempting individuals from criminal liability if they signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
Many of those pardoned had already been convicted of violent crimes. Some had been convicted more than once. In September 2023, an Oleg Grechko from Zavolzhye, Nizhny Novgorod Region, twice convicted of murder, again appeared before a court. Without serving his latest sentence, he went to Ukraine to fight, likely as part of Wagner PMC. Six months later, Grechko returned home and moved into his sister’s house. After an argument, he doused the sleeping woman with gasoline and burned her alive.
With each year of the war, such cases have grown more common. At least 2,139 convicted Ukraine war veterans had previous convictions. Of them, 656 were pardoned by presidential decree after being let out of jail to fight in Ukraine. This means that 27% of convicted veterans had a criminal record prior to their most recent offense.
This figure is significantly lower than the national average. In 2024, 44% of Russians convicted in criminal cases already had a prior record, including expunged convictions. This discrepancy may be explained by the fact that courts do not always disclose information about expunged convictions in their verdicts.
Some veterans should still have been serving sentences for past crimes, but having been deemed to have “redeemed themselves” on the battlefield, they received presidential pardons. One such case is that of Yevgeny Tverdokhlebov. In January 2022, he became jealous of his partner’s acquaintance and burned the man alive. He was sentenced to 15 years in a strict-regime penal colony. After serving six months, Tverdokhlebov left for Ukraine. He returned home with a “For Courage” medal and a pardon. After his release, he began drinking heavily and beating his partner. Following another assault, the woman was hospitalized with a ruptured spleen, and Tverdokhlebov was prosecuted again.
More than a thousand veterans have been repeatedly convicted for similar crimes, most commonly theft. Ninety of them were prosecuted for violent acts.
Some veterans should still have been serving sentences for past crimes, but having been deemed to have “redeemed themselves” on the battlefield, they received presidential pardons. One such case is that of Yevgeny Tverdokhlebov. In January 2022, he became jealous of his partner’s acquaintance and burned the man alive. He was sentenced to 15 years in a strict-regime penal colony. After serving six months, Tverdokhlebov left for Ukraine. He returned home with a “For Courage” medal and a pardon. After his release, he began drinking heavily and beating his partner. Following another assault, the woman was hospitalized with a ruptured spleen, and Tverdokhlebov was prosecuted again.
More than a thousand veterans have been repeatedly convicted for similar crimes, most commonly theft. Ninety of them were prosecuted for violent acts.
Judicial leniency
Signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense grants Russians a range of privileges, one of the most consequential being protection from criminal prosecution. In 2024, Putin signed the above mentioned law exempting active veterans of the war in Ukraine from criminal liability. From the Kremlin’s point of view, this expands the reserves of men who can be mobilized. For criminals, it offers a way to avoid punishment and a criminal record. Criminal proceedings are first suspended and later terminated entirely, for example, if one is awarded a medal.
If the accused has already come home from the war, his veteran status can still influence sentencing. The data confirms this pattern. A third of Ukraine war veterans receive more lenient punishment than civilians without war experience. By contrast, only 15% of veterans receive harsher sentences. Most often, courts assign corrective labor, compulsory labor or fines instead of imprisonment.
Signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense grants Russians a range of privileges, one of the most consequential being protection from criminal prosecution. In 2024, Putin signed the above mentioned law exempting active veterans of the war in Ukraine from criminal liability. From the Kremlin’s point of view, this expands the reserves of men who can be mobilized. For criminals, it offers a way to avoid punishment and a criminal record. Criminal proceedings are first suspended and later terminated entirely, for example, if one is awarded a medal.
If the accused has already come home from the war, his veteran status can still influence sentencing. The data confirms this pattern. A third of Ukraine war veterans receive more lenient punishment than civilians without war experience. By contrast, only 15% of veterans receive harsher sentences. Most often, courts assign corrective labor, compulsory labor or fines instead of imprisonment.
Among those nevertheless sentenced to prison, every third veteran received a shorter sentence than the national average, while only 17% received a longer one. A quarter of imprisoned veterans were sentenced to the minimum of up to one year. In 63% of such cases, judges reduced the length of the sentence.
Veterans can expect mitigation for almost any offense. Even for categories of crimes where courts usually impose multiyear sentences, war veterans often receive fines. Under Article 161/Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which covers robbery, 56% of all those convicted in 2024 received prison sentences, most commonly ranging from two to three years. Only 0.4% received a fine.
Veterans can expect mitigation for almost any offense. Even for categories of crimes where courts usually impose multiyear sentences, war veterans often receive fines. Under Article 161/Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which covers robbery, 56% of all those convicted in 2024 received prison sentences, most commonly ranging from two to three years. Only 0.4% received a fine.
Take the case of Alexander Kashkarev, an Ukraine war veteran. He threatened a cashier at a Red and White liquor chain store and stole vodka and wine. Kashkarev had been convicted of theft at least twice before. Still, the court, citing his “impeccable service to the Fatherland,” awards received for his service in Ukraine, and combat injuries, gave him a fine of RUB 10,000, or roughly $13.
On average, courts sentence veterans to imprisonment less often for nearly all categories of crime. This is especially evident in cases involving drug possession without intent to distribute, drunk driving and robbery without aggravating circumstances. For violent crimes, however, veterans’ likelihood of receiving prison sentences is close to the national average.
It is also important to note that all figures cited here represent minimum estimates. Not all criminal proceedings involving veterans reach court. Not all verdicts are published. Finally, information on criminal cases in occupied Ukraine is entirely unavailable, even though it is there that active military personnel commit most documented offenses.
On average, courts sentence veterans to imprisonment less often for nearly all categories of crime. This is especially evident in cases involving drug possession without intent to distribute, drunk driving and robbery without aggravating circumstances. For violent crimes, however, veterans’ likelihood of receiving prison sentences is close to the national average.
It is also important to note that all figures cited here represent minimum estimates. Not all criminal proceedings involving veterans reach court. Not all verdicts are published. Finally, information on criminal cases in occupied Ukraine is entirely unavailable, even though it is there that active military personnel commit most documented offenses.
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