2024-03-15 05:15:21
A former Russian soldier who fought in Ukraine received a 20-year sentence today for starting a nightclub fire that killed 13 people, Russian media reported, citing Reuters.
The agency notes that there have been numerous reports of Russian soldiers committing crimes involving violence after returning from Ukraine, a problem for the Kremlin.
Many of the accused are men who were released prematurely from prison, where they were for serious crimes, in exchange for fighting in Ukraine, BTA reported.
In November 2022, 23-year-old Stanislav Yonkin, while drunk, got into a fight in a nightclub in the city of Kostroma, about 320 kilometers from Moscow, and fired shots from a flare gun that set the roof of the building on fire, killing more than a dozen people inside . Yonkin’s lawyer argued to the court-martial that the former soldier was receiving treatment for a concussion suffered in Ukraine, which may have affected his behavior at the time.
“In tense situations, Yonkin tends to make rash decisions, which is confirmed by psychological and psychiatric expertise,” said his lawyer, quoted by Mediazona.
A Moscow court today stripped Yonkin of the rank of sergeant and a medal for bravery in battle. He was also ordered to pay 14.5 million rubles ($158,000) in civil claims to the victims and 45 million rubles to the nightclub owner, Interfax reported.