Russian man pleads guilty to attempting to pass off banya burns as combat wound to obtain financial benefits

A military court in Penza has convicted a Russian soldier of fraud after he allegedly tried to pass off injuries he received off of the battlefield for combat wounds. The Russian newspaper Kommersant called the decision “arguably the first fraud conviction against a soldier in connection with the special military operation” (Kremlin parlance for the war in Ukraine).

According to Kommersant, a soldier named Alexander Doroshenko served under contract as a driver and fuel transporter in a logistical support company that delivered fuel and food to units fighting in the war against Ukraine. Doroshenko himself didn’t participate in combat himself, but he did come under shellfire.

In the spring of 2022, according to the paper, Doroshenko sustained two injuries: a fractured finger on his right hand, which he received while assisting troops on the battlefield, and a burn on his left leg, which occurred during a visit he made to a banya (a traditional Russian bathhouse). In early April, Doroshenko told a military doctor that he had received the burn in a mine explosion. In May, he applied for the one-time payment guaranteed to injured soldiers by presidential decree.

Doroshenko’s commanders quickly established that he was not on the battlefield when he suffered the burn and reported him to the military prosecutor’s office. He was soon charged with attempted fraud.

During the course of the investigation against him, Doroshenko confessed to the crime, saying he needed money to take care of his sick mother. He was sentenced to two years in prison, which were soon replaced with probation.