Vladimir Putin has put a convicted rapist and killer back on the streets of Russia in exchange for a three-month tour of military duty in Ukraine.
Georgy Povilayko, 31, received a pardon in the last few weeks and headed back to his hometown of Vladivostok to the astonishment of local residents.
Povilayko was sentenced to decades in prison only in 2022 for slaughtering mum-of-two Anna Koshulko, 37, in her garage as she prepared to head to work.
Local sources claimed the convicted murderer signed a military contract in October 2023.
The Russian military requires a felon to agree to at least six months in Ukraine before becoming eligible for a pardon.
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Hours later, he was finally arrested but only after ramming into a police car and trying to escape.
Povilayko was sentenced to 24 years in jail on five counts of murder, rape, sexual assault and theft in 2022. But he walked free a year later after agreeing to serve in Ukraine.
The convicted rapist is the latest example of Putin’s ongoing effort to prop up the Russian Army in Ukraine by enticing convicts to sign up in exchange for their freedom
In November, it emerged the Russian President had pardoned Nikolai Ogolobyak, a convicted Satanist and cannibal who murdered four teenagers to eat their body parts.
Vladislav Kanyus murdered former girlfriend Vera Pekhteleva in a frenzied attack, stabbing her 111 times before choking her to death with the electrical cord of an iron.
