Evgeny Zhurin, frontman of a small Russian pop band from the 1990s, had been in pre-trial custody facing 10 years in prison before he was spotted in khakis on the frontline in Ukraine.
Although Zhurin had insisted on his innocence when charged with defrauding a pensioner, it appeared he had chosen not to take his chances in court but to serve on the battlefield instead.
His case, which gripped his hometown of Vologda 450km north of Moscow, is emblematic of a new recruitment effort across Russia. When investigating a case, Russian police now offer suspects the chance to be cleared of all charges ahead of trial if they agree to serve a stint in the army in Ukraine.
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