Commotion in Russia
Russian “Executioner” charged with fraud involving millions
He was a poster child for Russian war propaganda: four medals for bravery on his chest, combative words in videos from the Ministry of Defense, combat name "Executioner." Now Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Frolov is in pretrial detention.
From propaganda hero to defendant: he had declared that he would not rest until Russia had "won" in Ukraine, boasting about alleged shrapnel wounds and medals for bravery. Now Frolov is in custody.
The Russian investigative authorities accuse the lieutenant colonel of working with another commander of his elite unit to create a system in which soldiers receive high compensation payments for injuries. The damage is estimated at around 200 million rubles (approximately 2.2 million euros).
Superiors on the "payroll"
According to the indictment, more than 30 soldiers and medics used weapons to deliberately injure themselves and thus become eligible for state payments. In 2024, President Vladimir Putin issued a decree setting compensation of up to three million rubles for serious injuries. Part of the money is said to have gone to superiors.
Frolov now faces a military court on charges of fraud, bribery, and arms trafficking. He denies that soldiers deliberately shot themselves, but admitted to being involved in "manipulated record keeping."
It turns out that my country, which called me a hero all year long, is now contradicting itself and locking me up in a cage.
Frolow vor Gericht
Multiple payments
Multiple injuries from one battle were reported as separate incidents in order to receive money multiple times. "It turns out that my country, which has called me a hero all year long, is now contradicting itself and locking me up in a cage," he said in court.
"If you want a vacation, you have to be injured"
A former paratrooper confirmed to the New York Times that injuries were often exaggerated. "If you want a vacation, you have to be injured. The idea was: 'We'll injure you, you give us the money – a million – and then you go on vacation,'" he said. Other soldiers say that "money determines everything" and that war has become a business for some.
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