FSB agents reportedly detained Lieutenant Colonel Irek Magasumov after the alleged killing in Luhansk – one of the regions that Putin has annexed.
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The murder is said to have occurred just weeks after he was awarded the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation” by Putin in a lavish ceremony in Moscow.
He is also a three-time holder of the “Order of Courage” award – and has served throughout Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Magasumov and one of his officers, Lieutenant Pavel Yaskevich, are reported to have met two girls while drinking in a bar.
Pictures allegedly show him pinned to the ground having been arrested by local cops over the suspected murder.
The drunk officer then allegedly shot one of the teenagers with his service pistol before fleeing the scene.
It is another embarrassment for Putin whose seemingly undisciplined army has performed poorly in Ukraine.
Reports of drunkness across the Russian Army are rife – with a British intelligence report explicitly blaming alcohol for Vlad’s failures.
Russian authorities however are now attempting to piece together what happened that night.
And already Putin’s politicians are already attempting to intervene on the decorated officer’s behalf to get him released.
Cops are probing whether or not Magasumov pulled the trigger and killed the girl after she asked to see his gun.
Another theory is that his comrade Yaskevich killed the girl accidentally after Magasumov had left.
It is bizarrely claimed the colonel left the lieutenant alone with the girls after another pal had asked him to help confront “five guys with tattoos”.
Investigators however believed that Magasumov fired the shot, according to Russian media.
Magasumov was reportedly arrested earlier this month.
But only now are the details emerging in local media and across Russian language channels on Telegram.
His arrest was confirmed by his wife.
Governor Sergei Tsivilev of his home region has attempted to intervene in the case.
He wrote a letter to the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee – the federal police body – begging for the case against his pal to be handed over to them.
Governor Tsivilev said the colonel has been “directly involved” in Putin’s war since the start on February 24, 2022, and moaned that the soldier “risks his life every day”.
State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein also shamelessly stood up for the alleged killer.
He said: “I believe that in today’s conditions, keeping a deputy brigade commander who is expected at the front behind bars is the height of recklessness.”
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