- Category
- Latest news
Convicted Italian Child Abuser Who Fought for Russia Detained at Airport After Ukraine Captivity
- Authors
![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
An Italian national who fought on the side of Russian forces and was later held as a prisoner of war in Ukraine has been arrested upon his return to Italy to serve a prison sentence for child sexual abuse.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
According to ANSA, Corriere della Sera, and Euronews on March 26, Gianni Cenni, a 52-year-old from Naples, was detained at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on March 25 immediately after arriving from Ukraine. Italian authorities executed an outstanding arrest warrant related to a prior conviction.
According to Corriere della Sera, Cenni had been sentenced in January 2023 to seven years and two months in prison for sexual violence against a seven-year-old child. However, he avoided serving the sentence by leaving Italy and moving across several countries, including Finland and Spain, before eventually relocating to Russia.
Investigators later determined that Cenni had been living in Russia, where he worked as a pizzaiolo and reportedly married a Russian citizen. According to Euronews, he subsequently signed a contract with Russian forces and was deployed to fight in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
According to ANSA, Cenni was captured by Ukrainian forces in early January 2025 near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. Following his capture, he was hospitalized in Kharkiv and later transferred to a detention facility for prisoners of war.
Italian authorities tracked his movements through international police cooperation mechanisms. According to Corriere della Sera, law enforcement agencies were able to confirm his identity after Ukrainian forces released footage and documentation linked to his capture.
Cenni had previously served a prison sentence for a 1999 murder, for which he spent approximately ten years in custody before being granted semi-liberty.
Upon his return to Italy, he was immediately taken into custody and is now expected to serve his sentence related to the 2023 conviction.
Earlier, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, more than 100 foreign nationals from 32 countries were held in Ukrainian captivity, excluding Russian citizens, with officials reporting a steady increase linked to foreign recruits signing contracts with the Russian Armed Forces.
-9a7b3a98ed5c506e0b77a6663f5727c5.png)
