Taking bribes, former Russian mayor joins campaign in Ukraine to get sentence reduced?

Oleg Gumenyuk was mayor of Vladivostok from 2018-2021

TASS SCREENSHOT

A former mayor in Russia serving a corruption sentence has had his sentence reduced after signing a contract to participate in a campaign in Ukraine, Russian media reported recently. Oleg Gumenyuk, who served as mayor of Vladivostok from 2018 to 2021, was sentenced last year to 12 years in prison for accepting bribes of up to 38 million rubles (10.6 billion VND). However, he was released after agreeing to carry a gun to participate in Russia's campaign in Ukraine, Kommersant reported on January 14, citing Gumenyuk's lawyer, Andrei Kitaev. The lawyer admitted he did not know where Gumenyuk was, but added that his client had been instructed to report to his military unit on December 22, 2023. Images circulating on social media showed a man resembling Gumenyuk carrying a gun standing among other soldiers. In another development, The Guardian reported on January 15 that the British Ministry of Defense believes that Russia may have "significantly inflated" the number of people joining its armed forces. Accordingly, on January 11, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that 500,000 people had joined the army in 2023. "There is a high probability that that number is significantly inflated," according to an intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defense. In an effort to meet recruitment targets, the Russian army has allowed new graduates to sign contracts with the army since April 2023. Data published by the Mediazona news site and BBC Russia shows that at least 5 Russian soldiers born in 2005 have died in combat. Russia has not commented on the above information.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-hoi-lo-cuu-thi-truong-nga-tham-gia-chien-dich-o-ukraine-de-duoc-giam-an-185240115200355215.htm