As ASTRA exclusively reported back in September 2024, the police began to offer the detainees, including women, to go to their “SMO”. The same offers are being made to already convicted citizens, and even to victims.
As ASTRA found out, on July 24, a 93-year-old resident of the village of Motovilovo in Arzamas, Nizhny Novgorod region, reported that she had been raped by an unknown man. Later, on suspicion of raping a pensioner, Ivan Yakovlev, who had been repeatedly convicted, including for sexual violence, was detained (pictured). A criminal case of rape was opened against him (Part 1 of Article 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
However, the security forces suggested that the detainee go to war — so Ivan could avoid responsibility for the rape of a 93-year-old woman. Yakovlev agreed to sign the contract, ASTRA sources familiar with the matter said.
Since the fall of 2024, Russian police and investigators have regularly offered detainees, suspects and accused persons to go war in exchange for avoiding punishment for crimes, ASTRA reported. Victims receive the same offers.
Here are just a few of the previously confirmed and published ASTRA cases.:
On June 26 , 2025 , three policemen were tortured in the Voronezh Region detained with a stun gun, forcing him to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
In February 2025 , the Krasnoyarsk security forces offered pedophile Vitaly Bublikov to go to war to avoid trial.
At the same time , Ruslan Umaev , a resident of a Chechen village who killed his daughter-in-law , went to war instead of punishment.
In May 2025, in Ulan-Ude, Vitaly Naletov, who was previously convicted of murder and accused of sexually abusing his 14-year-old daughter, was offered by security forces to go to war in exchange for exemption from liability. He refused.
In the winter of 2025 policeman who killed two tourists in Sheregesh went to war a week before the trial.
