Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ A Russian general has been arrested by a military court after being accused of 'selling' nearly 90 soldiers to a mercenary leader who is accused of extortion, kidnapping, arms trafficking, torture, and murder. Lt Gen Alexander Dembitsky denies the accusations. ⬇️

2/ The case involves Alexey Marushchenko, the head of the 'Yastreb' private military company, which fought in Ukraine. Yastreb's recruiters are said to have promised those who wished to enlish for military service that they would fight with Yastreb, rather than the regular army.

3/ The prospective contract soldiers were required to pay up front for this privilege. However, Russian criminal investigators found that Yastreb pocketed the recruits' money and they were sent straight to regular military units without any opportunity to serve with Yastreb.

4/ Marushchenko is accused of extorting money and valuables from recruits being transported to the group's HQ in the village of Myasoedovo near Belgorod. Five soldiers were allegedly kidnapped and tortured, and had to pay 850,000 rubles ($11,000) to be released.

5/ He also had a St Petersburg war correspondent, Roman Semenov, kidnapped, waterboarded, and buried in a coffin for 12 days while Semenov's wife organised a ransom payment. At least one murder has also been attributed to Marushchenko.

6/ According to Russian reports, Marushchenko has admitted all of the charges and has implicated other accomplices, including Lt Gen Dembitsky, who is the former commander of the 44th Army Corps of the Leningrad Military District. Yastreb operated under the 44th Corps.

7/ RBC reports that Dembitsky is accused of involvement in large-scale fraud involving Yastreb. 89 soldiers have been identified as victims, and 800 people have been interviewed by investigators.

8/ While the details of Dembitsky's involvement haven't yet been fully disclosed, it's likely that it relates to how Yastreb was able to 'steal' recruits who came to military recruitment offices to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defence.

9/ They were told that if they served with Yastreb instead, they would "earn significantly more money and avoid problems in the army," according to RBC sources. The men were then charged between 30,000 and 200,000 rubles to join Yastreb.

10/ One is reported to have paid 1.25 million ($16,200) in exchange for a promise not to send him to the front line. In total, over 8.8 million rubles ($114,000) is said to have been stolen. All of the men ended up on the front line anyway.

11/ Marushchenko says that he gave Dembitsky a 4 million ruble ($55,000) bribe to allow him to command assault units fighting against the Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region, even though Marushchenko was not in the chain of command.

12/ He brought the money in a gift box to the general's command post, after which Dembitsky asked him to take the box to his apartment in Moscow.

13/ Marushchenko agreed and, in January 2025, allegedly handed the cash to Dembitsky's wife, after purchasing a bouquet of flowers and preparing a gift of his own—two pewter glass holders that the general liked.

14/ Marushchenko is said to have been regarded by soldiers as Dembitsky's protégé; they met repeatedly at the army corps command post to discuss the combat situation.

15/ Dembitsky has denied the charges, claiming that he was dissatisfied with Marushchenko assigning combat missions and receiving reports in the assault company commanders' Telegram chat. He also denies receiving any gifts from Marushchenko.

16/ Marushchenko is currently on trial for his crimes, along with several subordinates from Yastreb. He has admitted guilt to avoid getting a life sentence and has asked to be allowed to go back to Ukraine to fight.

17/ One of his subordinates has already been tried and convicted. On 22 May, Ivan Timokhov (call sign 'Timokha') was sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power involving torture, relating to the kidnapping of war correspondent Roman Semenov. /end

Sources:
🔹 ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/04/02/v-k…
🔹 novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/…
🔹 rbc.ru/politics/03/07…
🔹 kommersant.ru/doc/8795978
🔹 gazeta.ru/social/news/20…