An imprisoned Russian crime boss serving a 23-year sentence volunteered to serve in the war effort, only to be killed this month by a piece of shrapnel while fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region, according to reports.
Igor Kusk, 55, volunteered with the private mercenary contractor the Wagner Group, which has been recruiting prisoners to fight for Russia in the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's Business Gazeta reported.
He was sent to the front line July 25 and was killed Sept. 6 when a piece of shrapnel hit him in the head while fighting the Donbas, his widow Irina told the Gazeta.
Kusk, a Soviet-Afghan War veteran, was sentenced for 23 years stemming from organized crime and 2015 murders, staying at a maximum security Russia prison when he wrote a prison letter to Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov requesting to join the fight in Ukraine, according to his widow.
The Wagner Group then brought him into the war effort, sending him to Bakhmut region in the Donbas.
Media photos showed mourners at Kusk's funeral this week and he was buried in the "walk of fame" in the his hometown's cemetery, according to Gazeta.
Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group reportedly has offered freedom to Russian prisoners volunteering to fight for six months against Ukraine, while warning they would be killed if they tried to desert, according to reports.
The Wagner Group has allegedly been active for Russian interests in the Donbas since 2014 and he also been in action in Syria. They have been linked to the Bucha, Ukraine, massacre and accused of war crimes in Africa, according to Business Insider.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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