(CNN) A convicted murderer who was allowed out of prison in Russia to join private military company Wagner and fight in Ukraine was arrested within days of returning home on suspicion of killing an elderly woman.
Ivan Rossomakhin was already a repeat offender when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for murder in 2020. He was released last year after volunteering for Wagner.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has recruited massively from Russian prisons, promising inmates like Rossomakhin pardons and other benefits in exchange for a contract.
Rossomakhin had a permanent spell with Wagner in Ukraine – the normal contract runs for six months – before returning to his hometown of Novyj Burets in the Kirov region this month.
Trouble broke out almost immediately, according to local reports. After several threats, he was detained for five days.
His presence led to a town hall meeting on Monday, which was filmed by a local TV station.
A resident, Galina Sapozhnikova, said Rossomakhin was seen with a pitchfork, an ax and a knife and threatened to kill everyone.
District police chief Vadim Varankin said at the meeting that Rossomakhin was a “known troublemaker” and was being treated.
But before that could happen, an elderly woman was murdered in town. Rossomakhin was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the crime but was not formally charged.
Prigozhin himself has commented on the case, saying that his company is ready to assist in the prosecution of one of its former fighters.
“If a person is behaving aggressively or provocatively or if there is a risk, especially if they are from the ex-prisoner category, you have to tell us up front where he should vent his aggression,” he said.
Prigozhin said he will stop recruiting convicts in February. However, it appears that the prison recruitment campaign continued under the Russian Defense Ministry. CNN has spoken to several fighters who say they are employed directly by the ministry.
Brutal tactics, little regard for life
Wagner is known for his ruthless tactics and for showing little regard for the lives of his own soldiers.
The private military was established in 2014 and faces charges of war crimes in Africa, Syria and Ukraine.
A former Wagner mercenary who fled to Norway spoke to CNN about the brutality he witnessed among Wagner fighters in Ukraine.
“They would round up those who didn’t want to fight and shoot them in front of the newcomers,” he claimed. “They brought two prisoners who refused to fight and they shot them in front of everyone and buried them right in the trenches dug by the trainees.”
Wagner played a key role in the Ukraine War and raised the profile of the once-shadowy Prigozhin.
Wagner fighters were heavily involved in January’s capture of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, the first Russian military gain in months.
But there was also tension between Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry, which had published competing claims about her role in the battle.
Prigozhin has openly criticized the Russian military leadership, even going so far as to attribute the deaths of his fighters to officials’ inability to obtain enough ammunition.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen, Victoria Butenko, Rob Picheta, Nick Paton Walsh, Daria Markina and Olga Voitovych contributed coverage.