Ex-head of Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry’s Yekaterinburg department, convicted of bribery and illegal weapons possession, killed in war in Ukraine

Igor Trifonov, the former head of Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry’s Yekaterinburg department, died in the war in Ukraine, report Kommersant and local outlet It's My City, citing his lawyer, Olga Kezik.

In 2022, Trifonov was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for bribery and illegal weapons possession. According to Kezik, Trifonov had long tried to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry and managed to go to the war at the end of 2023.

“He wanted to prove to his homeland that he wasn’t guilty,” said Kezik. She added that he died soon after being sent to the war and that his wife learned of his passing on January 2.

Kezik reported that Trifonov’s family intends to appeal his conviction and prove his innocence.