Fake wounds. Dozens of paratroopers charged in scheme of shooting each other for cash and medals

The scheme involved falsifying combat injuries to obtain not only monetary compensation but also service benefits and state awards, including the Order of Courage and the medal “For Bravery”. 

Investigators identified 35 participants who illegally received more than 200 million rubles ($2.5 million) from the state budget. According to the file, some servicemen staged wounds—in some cases by shooting one another in non-vital parts of the body—in order to claim combat compensation.

The case reportedly began after a single serviceman from the brigade testified to a military investigative unit in St. Petersburg. That soldier was granted witness status. Both Gorodilov and Frolov later admitted guilt and entered pre-trial cooperation agreements.

Colonel Gorodilov previously commanded the 234th Air Assault Regiment, which was identified by The New York Times in 2022 as being responsible for the killing of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine; he is also on a U.S. sanctions list for “his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings”. The 83rd Brigade, based in the city of Ussuriysk, has been heavily involved in the war in Ukraine and received the Order of Suvorov in July 2023.

The criminal charges filed against Gorodilov are for large-scale fraud. Lieutenant Colonel Frolov faces the same fraud charge, as well as additional charges of bribery and illegal possession of weapons, ammunition, and explosives. Investigators reported finding caches of trophy weapons and munitions allegedly belonging to Frolov in the Luhansk region of occupied Ukraine.

Frolov was arrested on June 27, 2024, by the St. Petersburg garrison military court, and Gorodilov was arrested in Moscow on July 4, 2024. The case was then escalated to the Main Military Investigative Directorate.

Kommersant reports that media coverage and social media posts elevating the public image of the accused now appear to be exaggerated or false. For example, the investigation doubts reports that lauded Frolov as the commander of a top sniper group and claimed he had adopted a girl rescued from shelling.

According to Agentstvo, an independent news outlet, a four-minute segment featuring Frolov that aired on Russia’s major Channel One on February 23, 2024. The report described a “unique group of snipers” led by “one of the most effective snipers in the special military operation zone” with the call sign “Palach”. The correspondent claimed that Frolov, acting on his “officer’s honor,” refused rehabilitation and returned to the front after his seventh wound. The broadcast repeated the story of the adoption, with Frolov recounting the event himself.

The investigation file, which runs to nearly one hundred volumes, has been sent to prosecutors. The case will be heard by the Luhansk garrison military court, as some of the alleged crimes occurred there. Despite cooperation agreements and offers from some defendants to repay the state, none have been released from pre-trial detention.