Ukrainian forces kill Russian soldier with criminal background, intelligence says
Ukrainian forces killed a Russian soldier with a criminal background in combat, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence.
The report said, citing the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, that the serviceman had previously been involved in criminal proceedings for serious offenses.
According to the report, he served in the 9th Motor Rifle Regiment of the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division, part of Russia’s 11th Army Corps.
It said that in 2022–2023, he was suspected of committing serious crimes against minors. However, Russian investigators did not bring the case to court.
According to the report, on September 29, 2025, the man signed a contract with the Russian army, underwent brief training, and was deployed to temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. He was killed in combat shortly after arriving at the front.
“The Russian army continues the systematic practice of recruiting individuals who should be serving sentences for serious crimes. Instead, they are given weapons, effectively encouraging violence and impunity,” the agency said.
Along the front line, hundreds of attacks were reported, with the heaviest fighting in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions.
In addition, Russian forces shelled the Dnipropetrovsk region nearly 30 times over the past day, injuring one person.
Russian forces also targeted an ambulance brigade with an FPV drone in the Kharkiv region.
