Two men from Volgograd Oblast, convicted of cannibalism and human dismemberment, have joined the war in Ukraine, as reported by V1 on May 2.
Dmitry Malyshev, a resident of Volgograd who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2015 for multiple criminal cases, has left the penal colony and enlisted in the conflict in Ukraine. A decade ago, he murdered an acquaintance, a Tajik native, then carved out his heart, and ate it. Prior to this, Malyshev, operating within an organized criminal group, killed two businessmen and appropriated their assets.
In March 2024, Malyshev took a photo with another participant in the war, Alexander Maslennikov from Volzhsky, who was convicted in 2017 for the murder and dismemberment of two girls, receiving a 22-year sentence. In 2023, residents of Volgograd and Volzhsky expressed their fear on social media about Maslennikov's potential return to the region.
During his conversation with V1 journalists, Malyshev confirmed that he had served his prison term alongside Maslennikov, and they both signed a military contract in October 2023. Malyshev was deployed to the 'Storm V' unit. The cannibal asserted that he had decided to 'fight for the preservation of traditional Russian values.'
Following the death of Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner PMC, the Ministry of Defense took charge of recruiting and deploying prisoners to the war zone in Ukraine. Former convicts are enlisted into the 'Storm V' and 'Storm Z' units. In the spring of 2024, journalists discovered that the leader of a criminal group from Zabaykalye had gone to war after serving 14 years of his 22-year sentence.
