The Ukrainian Armed Forces have eliminated a corrupt Russian sports official
Ukrainian defenders neutralised the invader Vasily Chigvintsev — the former deputy head of the Regional Centre for Sports Facilities in Kuzbass. This Russian went straight to the front from prison, where he was serving a sentence for bribery.
His death marks another blow to enemy personnel trying to cover up aggression against Ukraine.
Chigvintsev and his superior Vladislav Nefedov were detained in January 2024. They demanded bribes exceeding 24.4 million roubles — roughly 300,000 dollars — from businessmen in exchange for awarding profitable contracts. In February 2025, the court sentenced Chigvintsev to six and a half years in prison, but by the summer he was sent to fight against Ukraine.
Russian propagandists reported that Chigvintsev was buried in Kemerovo on 12 January. This event highlights how Moscow forcibly recruits prisoners for the war.
Recall that in Moscow, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war were also eliminated. An Estonian fighting for the Russian army was likewise killed on the front line in Ukraine.
