Russian police search for armed ex-prisoner suspected of committing assault after return from deployment in Ukraine

In Russia’s Vologda region, police are searching for Alexander Kurtyshev, a former prisoner who was recruited to fight in Ukraine, reports head of the Vologda’s Kaduysky district Svetlana Gracheva.

The document says 39-year-old Kurtyshev is suspected of “causing bodily harm.” He was previously convicted for the murder of two or more persons. Independent news outlet Mediazona found case documents which show that he was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2017 for beating and strangling two acquaintances.

According to the outlet Vologda Poisk, Wagner Group recruited Kurtyshev to fight in Ukraine in 2023. After the mercenary group’s rebellion, Kurtyshev signed a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry. He had recently returned to the Vologda region for vacation, when he beat an acquaintance who had to be hospitalized.

The local police warn that Kurtyshev “may have bladed weapons or firearms, [he may be] mentally unstable, prone to committing serious crimes against life and wellbeing.” According to the document, the suspect is likely armed with a shotgun.

Russia’s Interior Ministry confirmed the search for Kurtyshev, noting that he is suspected of stealing weapons.

According to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti, all schools in Vologda’s Babayevsky district have been cordoned off due to the search for Kurtyshev. Independent outlet 7x7 said that the district’s education department had no such information.