rom the Front to the Home: When SVO Veterans Kill and Rape Children

In this episode, we talk about one of the darkest consequences of Russia’s war: violence against children committed by former fighters and pardoned convicts. From a knife attack on a sleeping 12-year-old boy in southern Russia to the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, these cases show how men with violent pasts return from the front and continue to kill. Experts warn that mass pardons, secrecy, and the erasing of criminal records make repeat crimes almost inevitable. This is a story about impunity, silence, and children who paid the highest price.