Sergey Sadovnikov, a 35-year-old resident of the Kirov region, is an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. The man served time in prison for drug distribution and signed a contract with PMC Wagner, his friends and colleagues told ASTRA. According to them, Sadovnikov has an ex-wife, Ekaterina, and a 12-year-old daughter, Milana. In a conversation with an ASTRA correspondent, Ekaterina clarified that she was not officially married and broke up with Sergey 12 years ago. In 2024, she filed a wanted list against Sadovnikov — he did not pay about 500,000 rubles for alimony for his daughter. She also confirmed that Sergey had deserted from the army about a year ago.
Sergei went to fight in Ukraine, but deserted and disappeared. One of Sadovnikov’s colleagues, Mikhail Filatov, had been looking for Sergei since at least June 2025. Later, in a personal conversation with an ASTRA correspondent, it became clear that this was a special services officer looking for a couple who had escaped from the army.
“I’m looking for them to come back and face the court. Here, of course, you, the journalists, have presented a beautiful and inspiring story on the Internet. Hype, get a rating for yourself, flash your names. But that’s not really the case. And for some reason, you don’t specify a lot of “details” because of which they actually “deserted”. I talked to Alice’s mother and offered her a reasonable way out of the situation. And most importantly, it’s legitimate,” said a man who initially introduced himself as Sadovnikov’s colleague. He refused to tell his version of the story.
It is known from other sources that Sergei deserted from the army along with, presumably, his new wife Alice, who served as a medic in the war in Ukraine (ASTRA was unable to contact any of the woman’s relatives to independently confirm this information). The couple decided to flee Russia from the Krasnodar Territory by double kayak across the Black Sea, having covered 332 km in a few days.
“We went out on a kayak for a walk. I hope this is not our last video,” says Alice. “No, not the last one, we’ll survive everything. The open sea is Black, we’re kayaking, the sail is broken, we’ll try to make up for it somehow. I survived the storm today, I almost died,” says Sergey Sadovnikov.
They sailed to Turkey, then walked to the Mediterranean coast and tried to reach Greece by water. However, the couple was detained by Greek border guards, who took their money and belongings, and then sent back to the sea. As a result, they reached Turkey again, where they were detained by Turkish security forces.
Alice and Sergey are currently in a deportation prison in Turkey. They are looking for lawyers who will help them travel not to Russia, where they face punishment, but to Armenia.
UPD: Sadovnikov’s former common-law wife Ekaterina confirmed that the man deserted from the army and is now wanted.
