Mikhail Popkov, a former Russian policeman sentenced to two life sentences for the deaths of nearly 80 women in Siberia, has volunteered to fight in Ukraine in exchange for a possible pardon.
Known as “The Werewolf” or “The Maniac of Angarsk,” the 58-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 for raping and killing at least 22 women in the city of Angarsk. In 2018, he was sentenced to a new life sentence for the deaths of 56 women, thus becoming the biggest serial killer in recent Russian history.
Despite his status, the authorities allowed him to be interviewed by a Russian state station in prison. Asked by the Vesti news channel what his dream was, Popkov did not hesitate: “Join the
Acknowledging that fighting in Ukraine would not be a “computer game” or a story from “a fiction book about superheroes,” the convict further stated that he “would not hesitate” to join Russian forces in the invaded country.
“Considering my military expertise, I think it is now in great demand,” he said. “Even though I’ve been in prison for 10 years, I don’t think it was that difficult to learn new skills,” he acknowledged.
It should be noted that, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, the Wagner Group was recruiting thousands of men in Russian prisons to fight in Ukraine for a period of six months, offering them in exchange the promise of freedom.
Mikhail Popkov, who left the police force in 1998, abandoned his victims in forests, cemeteries, or on the sides of roads. Two women survived Mikhail Popkov’s attacks despite being seriously injured.
The ex-policeman lured women who were drunk or even those he considered to lead an “immoral life,” killing them with the help of an axe and a hammer. All crimes occurred between 1992 and 2010.
Investigators identified the killer in 2012 after conducting DNA analysis on locals who owned a car that matched the tyre tracks left at the crime scenes.
