Violent Crime by Russian Soldiers Surges During Ukraine War – Vot Tak - The Moscow Times
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Violent crime committed by active-duty Russian servicemen has surged since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Poland-based news outlet Vot Tak reported, with murders, sexual assaults and robberies rising far faster than the military’s expansion.

Violent crime committed by active-duty Russian servicemen has surged since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Poland-based news outlet Vot Tak reported, with murders, sexual assaults and robberies rising far faster than the military’s expansion.

Russian garrison military courts received 729 murder cases involving servicemen between 2022 and 2025, compared with just 67 in the four years before the war, according to data compiled by Vot Tak.

The more-than-tenfold increase comes as the size of Russia’s Armed Forces grew by roughly one and a half times over the same period.

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The number of murders committed by servicemen outside combat zones has risen steadily each year of the war, according to the court data.

In 2025, the number of murder cases handled by garrison military courts was one and a half times higher than in 2024 and 16 times higher than in 2022, the first year of the invasion.

Overall, 729 such cases were filed between 2022 and 2025, compared to just 67 cases from 2018 to 2021.

Similarly, courts received 278 cases of grievous bodily harm resulting in death during the war years, compared with fewer than 40 in the preceding four-year period.

The sharp rise cannot be explained solely by the military’s expansion, Vot Tak said. Presidential decrees increased the size of the military by about 50% compared with pre-war levels, far below the rate of growth in violent crime.

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Alcohol consumption appears to play a significant role in many of the killings.

In nearly three-quarters of published verdicts reviewed by Vot Tak, the perpetrator was intoxicated at the time of the crime. Soldiers committed murders while on leave, during downtime and even while on duty.

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While some killings involve disputes among servicemen, most take place outside military settings.

Only about 17% of the cases reviewed involved victims who were fellow soldiers. The majority of victims were civilians, oftentimes friends, acquaintances or strangers.

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In one case, a mobilized soldier stabbed a woman 42 times in a wooded area after an argument during a drinking session. He later attempted to persuade a witness to help bury the body.

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  • tardigradeOPEnglish
    4·
    21 hours ago

    ‘Rapists and murderers’ in Russian army rampage while home from front

    Russian soldiers at home have been killing, maiming, raping and looting at record rates since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    The number of murders also appears to be increasing year-on-year. In 2025, the total sum was one-and-a-half times more than in 2024 and 16 times more than in the first year of the full-scale war.

    Sexual violence committed by soldiers also climbed sharply. Between 2022 and 2025, courts reviewed 549 cases of rape and other forms of sexual assault. At least 312 involved minors and almost 250 involved young children under the age of 14. 2025 alone saw 248 cases, making it a record year.

    Cases of robbery and looting, too, have seen distinct increases. 659 cases of robbery and armed robbery involving servicemen were filed from 2022 to the end of 2025. The real figure is likely to be many times higher, since looting in conflict zones and border regions rarely result in court cases or prosecutions.

    The authors of the report caution that the real figures are likely to be far higher than the available data shows. Court records do not account for cases still being investigated and former soldiers are not included in the data … There is also almost no data available from the occupied territories of Ukraine, where Russian soldiers are likely to feel an even greater sense of impunity in pillaging and committing violent and sexual crimes.