Nine Former Prisoners Escape from a Training Ground in Belgorod Region

Nine former prisoners who had signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation escaped from a training ground in Belgorod Region. They fled with weapons, and now the consequences may be felt by all residents of the frontline region. The training ground from which the former prisoners, now valiant soldiers of the Russian army, escaped was located in the Korochansky District of Belgorod Region.

One of the escapees, Denis Mustyakov, was imprisoned for intentional murder, another, Roman Ser, was serving time for causing grievous bodily harm, and a third, Nikolai Bagrov, was punished for illegal deprivation of liberty (essentially, kidnapping for debt collection). The others were imprisoned for less serious crimes such as fraud, theft, and drug use.

According to law enforcement alerts, they might be in the city of Belgorod or Shebekino.

The escapees are named Eduard Arutyunyan, Igor Bolonin, Pavel Migunov, Denis Mustyakov, Roman Ser, Nikolai Bagrov, Alexey Gryazyutin, Alexander Ivanov, and Alexander Kasatkin.

It is evident that the prisoners had been planning this escape for a long time. They could not escape from the colonies where they were held, so they decided to use the contract with the Ministry of Defense to implement their plan. It is quite likely that they realized their future prospects in the Russian army — to die in senseless assaults on another set of ruins in Ukraine.

Moreover, there is another equally sensational news story. An instructor from another military unit, “Storm Z” instructor Yevgeny Zarubin, has escaped. The instructor recorded a video about the losses during the assault on Volchansk, where a supposed sanitary zone is being created.

In mid-July, Zarubin recorded a video stating that he could only extract two-thirds of the unit he commanded during the assault. After this, Zarubin was forced to record a retraction.

The “Storm Z” units are analogous to the units that existed in the Wagner PMC, but under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Prisoners were recruited in the same way in the zones, but by Russian officers instead of PMC representatives.

Their fate did not change because of this. They were classic cannon fodder, which was not spared and was used despite massive losses in bloody assaults.

Whether the escape of the former prisoners from the training ground is connected to the escape of the “Storm Z” instructor is not known as of today.