Released from prison to frontline. Russia's cannibal soldier story
Russians have been conducting a war for over two years, and it's no longer surprising that Vladimir Putin's army includes prisoners serving sentences. Being on the front offers them a chance to leave their cells earlier. However, Dmitriy Malyshev's case is extraordinary. Despite having killed and consumed the heart of his victim, the Russian was released from prison.
8:51 AM EDT, May 2, 2024
Dmitriy Malyshev garnered notoriety in Moscow ten years ago for murdering a Tajik man who had come to Russia for work. Malyshev didn't just murder the newcomer; he also removed his heart and consumed it. For this, he received a 25-year prison sentence. Further investigation also linked him to other crimes.
The cannibal was released to fight in the war
Malyshev is no longer confined to his prison cell. According to Belsat TV, journalists from Volgograd, a city near Ukraine, discovered him on the war front. They examined his social media accounts to confirm his identity and found that Malyshev frequently shares photos of himself in military attire. In some of these photos, he is seen with a friend, Alexander Maslennikov.
Malyshev and Maslennikov became acquainted in the penal colony, where Maslennikov was also serving a sentence for murder. The conflict in Ukraine offered them both a path to freedom.
Current reports from Russian media indicate that Malyshev is now hospitalized after being wounded on the front in Ukraine.
Malyshev isn't the first, nor will he likely be the last, convicted murderer to join the Russian forces in Ukraine. Since the war's escalation, Putin's regime has actively recruited volunteers from prisons and penal colonies. The Wagner Group, especially, has been keen on drafting mercenaries from these facilities, offering convicts money and reduced sentences in exchange for their service in the conflict.
