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Man Suspected Of Killing Teen Girl In Siberia Identified As Former POW In Ukraine


Andrei Bykov was recruited by the Defense Ministry to the war in Ukraine in October 2023 from prison, where he was serving a lengthy term for murder.
Andrei Bykov was recruited by the Defense Ministry to the war in Ukraine in October 2023 from prison, where he was serving a lengthy term for murder.

Russia's Interior Ministry said on June 19 that a 49-year-old man suspected of killing a 12-year-old girl in the Siberian region of Kemerovo has been apprehended. Sources told RFE/RL that the suspect is Andrei Bykov, who was recruited by the Defense Ministry to the war in Ukraine in October 2023 from prison, where he was serving a lengthy term for murder. Bykov was captured by Ukrainian forces last year and was released in a prisoner exchange earlier this year. The number of crimes in Russia committed by convicts recruited from Russian penitentiaries who fought in Ukraine has been on rise since early 2023. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

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