Russian Former Mayor Accused of Bribery Sent to Ukraine Battlefield Instead of Prison

Former Vladivostok Mayor Sentenced to 12 Years
Contracts with Russian Defense Ministry During Imprisonment... Military Training

The former Russian local government head, who was serving a 12-year prison sentence for bribery, is set to be released from prison and deployed to the special military operation in Ukraine.

On the 14th (local time), Russian daily Kommersant and RBC reported that Oleg Gumenyuk (56), former mayor of Vladivostok in the Far Eastern Primorsky Krai, signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to go to the Ukrainian battlefield instead of serving the remainder of his sentence.

Former Russian Vladivostok Mayor Suspected Male (Green Circle) [Image Source=Russian Far East Media VL.RU Telegram Capture, Yonhap News]

Gumenyuk was charged with receiving a bribe of 38 million rubles (approximately 570 million KRW) from a company during his term from April 2019 to May 2021, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the appellate court last May. Previously, the first trial court sentenced Gumenyuk to 16 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 150 million rubles (approximately 2.2 billion KRW). He had been serving his sentence in a prison in Primorsky Krai after the court ruling.

Gumenyuk served in the former Soviet Navy from 1985 to 1987. Currently, although the exact location is unknown, he is reported to be undergoing military training somewhere. Gumenyuk’s lawyer said, "As far as I know, Gumenyuk must first undergo military training at a training ground."

Also, several local Telegram channels in Primorsky Krai posted a photo of a man presumed to be Gumenyuk dressed in military uniform holding a gun. Kommersant reported that the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service in the Primorsky region did not immediately comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine war, which began on February 24, 2022, will mark its second anniversary next month. As the war prolongs, both sides continue a grueling war of attrition beyond the year mark.

On the 13th, Russian forces conducted airstrikes across Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force stated in a social media post that "Russian forces launched 37 missiles and 3 drones overnight, of which 8 missiles were shot down." On the 10th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly appealed for Western support, citing a lack of air defense systems to counter missile and drone attacks.

Regarding the airstrikes that day, the Ukrainian Air Force said that through electronic warfare such as jamming, they neutralized more than 20 weapons that were not shot down, but the Russian forces claimed to have destroyed all targets. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in a briefing that "an attack was carried out this morning on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities," stating, "All designated facilities producing shells, gunpowder, and drones were hit."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.