Russian Lieutenant Colonel Sentenced for Murder Returns to Frontlines in Ukraine

Lieutenant Colonel Irek Magasumov of the Russian Army, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the murder of an 18-year-old girl in Luhansk, has returned to the war in Ukraine. The murder took place while Magasumov was celebrating the receiving of the Hero of Russia award.

According to "Tatar-Inform," Magasumov went back to the front on July 19, just over three weeks after his sentencing. Additionally, Magasumov's wife, Anna Magasumova, confirmed to Russian media that her husband appears in a recently circulated video of the interrogation of a captured Ukrainian prisoner of war.

Magasumov was the deputy commander of the 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade and had been fighting in Ukraine since February 2022. On August 2, 2023, he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, with the award presented personally by Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

A few days after receiving the award, Magasumov was accused of murdering 18-year-old Daria Kiseleva in Luhansk. According to the criminal case materials, on August 11, 2023, Magasumov and Senior Lieutenant Pavel Yaskevich met Kiseleva and her friend at a café in Luhansk. The girls allegedly asked the men to shoot from a pistol, though some reports suggest the military personnel initiated the request. One of the shots injured Kiseleva, who later died in an ambulance.

On June 26, 2024, the military court of the Luhansk “People’s Republic” sentenced Magasumov to 11 years in prison on charges of murder and hooliganism). He was also stripped of his title of Hero of Russia but retained his rank of lieutenant colonel. Prior to this, he had stated his intention to return to the war in Ukraine regardless of the verdict.