The shocking claim from Russia: elite soldiers were shooting themselves to cash in

In the middle of the war against Ukraine, the Kremlin has been hit with an extraordinary scandal inside its own ranks. An investigation by the Russian Investigative Committee has revealed that more than thirty servicemen from the 83rd Airborne Brigade—considered an elite unit—resorted to shooting themselves or one another in order to fake combat wounds and secure compensation payments of up to $37,000 each.

The fraud, which amounts to more than $2.5 million, went beyond money. According to United 24, the implicated soldiers also enjoyed paid leave, preferential medical treatment, and in some cases even received official decorations such as the Order of Courage and the Medal “For Bravery,” awarded in part thanks to their fabricated injuries.

The case reaches high-ranking figures. Guard Colonel Artem Gorodilov, the brigade’s former commander, and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Frolov—nicknamed “Palach” (the executioner)—have admitted their involvement and implicated fellow servicemen. Court documents show that Frolov claimed to have sustained four combat wounds, while his military patches displayed as many as seven. The reality was very different: he allegedly asked fellow soldiers to shoot him in a controlled manner, avoiding vital organs, to ensure he received financial compensation.

Simulated wounds, fraud, and illegal weapons

The investigation also uncovered a clandestine arsenal linked to Frolov in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR): pistols, a rifle, ammunition, and even mines and grenades. As a result, in addition to fraud, he faces charges of bribery and illegal possession of weapons and explosives. Gorodilov, for his part, has been charged with large-scale fraud under Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code.

In recent months, several international organizations have denounced Russia for sending former prisoners of war, freshly returned in swaps with Ukraine, back to the front lines without sufficient recovery time or proper demobilization procedures. This has led to cases of soldiers being captured again within weeks.

The revelations not only expose entrenched corruption within some of Russia’s most prestigious military units but also raise questions about the real state of its forces in a war that has already dragged on for more than two years. The fact that decorated soldiers preferred to risk their lives faking wounds rather than facing real combat highlights the deep internal erosion plaguing Moscow’s military machine.

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