A Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant Colonel Was Sentenced To 21 Years In Prison For Filming Fake Videos About “heroic Deeds” On The Front Lines

He was also accused of staging self-inflicted gunshot wounds to collect insurance payouts.

The St. Petersburg Garrison Military Court sentenced Konstantin Frolov—the son of Oleg Frolov, the former deputy general director for the state armaments program at Roscosmos—to 21 years in a maximum-security prison Oleg Frolov, who was accused of embezzling funds during the procurement of equipment. Konstantin Frolov—former head of the special operations group of the 83rd Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces—was found guilty of illegal trafficking in weapons and ammunition, bribery, and fraud involving injuries that were allegedly the result of accidental self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and was stripped of his rank of lieutenant colonel, reports “Kommersant”. As the court established, Frolov (call sign “The Executioner”) formed a gang of more than 30 accomplices in the “special military operation” zone for the purpose of embezzling money.

The Executioner’s plan was to stage combat feats in order to receive state awards and payments. To this end, the group’s members filmed staged videos. For example, in December 2023, members of the organized criminal group created a video depicting the alleged bombing of a convoy of military vehicles on the front lines, and in January 2024, a video depicting an attack by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones on their group. According to the investigation, in some cases, gang members “implanted” prepared shrapnel fragments into various parts of their bodies and faked injury marks. In some instances, medical personnel were involved in this. Investigators also determined that soldiers shot at each other and sustained injuries in order to receive compensation. Some of the fake videos were broadcast on federal channels and glorified nonexistent feats.

For example, one of the segments that made it onto TV was dedicated to a “unique group of snipers” led by a commander with the call sign “Executioner.” It reported that after being wounded for the seventh time, the officer, “in the name of an officer’s honor,” refused rehabilitation and returned to the front lines.

In reality, Frolov himself sustained a real injury while attempting to film a staged video at a training range, in which he threw a grenade into a dugout. As a result, the grenade ricocheted off the wall back toward the Executioner’s feet and exploded, causing him “actual bodily injury.” Also, in September 2023, the soldier was shot in the forearm with an AK-12 fitted with a silencer from a distance of about half a meter, but the injury “was not serious,” according to the case files.

In addition, the investigation found that Frolov created a fictitious group to test new drone models under the made-up names “Saturn-Tuman VP” and “Bison VP.” The perpetrators also acquired captured firearms and explosives, some of which were given as gifts to high-ranking officials, the case file states. Frolov himself claimed that some of the items were also transferred to the “Patriot” park.

By court order, Palach was stripped of four Orders of Courage, the “For Bravery” medal, and the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” 2nd class. The defendant himself linked the criminal case to the charges against his father.

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