A senior officer, Roman Malik, was found dead under unclear circumstances after numerous attacks on recruiting offices across Russia. His body was discovered near the fence of his house in a village in the Primorsky region. No fewer than 70 offices were damaged by Molotov cocktails as anger in Russia prevailed over the recruitment. In recent months, many senior officials have been found dead in Russia, including those considered close to Putin
Vladimir Putin’s head of recruitment in Ukraine was found dead under “suspicious” circumstances. Lt. Col. Roman Malik, 49, was discovered next to a fence at his home in a village in Russia’s Primorsky District. Several reports claimed he died by hanging. Russian police have opened a homicide investigation but have not ruled out that he hanged himself, local media reported.
His death comes after a spate of attacks on recruiting offices across Russia. No fewer than 70 offices were damaged by Molotov cocktails as anger in Russia prevailed over the recruitment. Outrage is mounting at recruitment officials who forcibly recruit men with little or no training, in violation of the law. In recent months, many senior officials have been found dead in Russia, including those considered close to Putin.
One of Vladimir Putin’s military enlistment chiefs has been found dead under ‘suspicious circumstances.’https://t.co/GWrJ4321K6
— Daily Star (@dailystar) October 15, 2022
Malik was married and the father of two, graduates of the Russian war in Chechnya. Friends and family strongly denied that he committed suicide. He was responsible for recruitment in the Partisan district and the surrounding area in the Primorsky region. Malik was described by friends as a “strong and courageous man” who “did not break under the weight of severe military events and great losses” in Chechnya. Earlier this month, in the neighboring Khabarovsk region, Yuri Leiko, 41, a military recruitment official, was dismissed amid riots over the forced conscription of local men.
He was accused of “mistakes” in the frantic recruitment of thousands of reservists in the vast Khabarovsk region, half of whom were found “unfit for service.” Governor Mikhail Dagtyariov said “several thousand of our compatriots received summonses and arrived at the military registration and recruitment offices. Half of them returned home because they do not meet the recruitment criteria for military service, therefore Yuri Laiko was dismissed.”