Allison Quinn
News Editor
Updated Nov. 21, 2023 11:55AM EST
Published Nov. 21, 2023 8:25AM EST
Nikolai Ogolobyak was sentenced to 20 years for the ritual killings of four teenagers—and was sent to war despite having gone blind.
A Russian man sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security prison for the ritualistic killing of four teenagers got a get-out-of-jail-free card after a stint in the war against Ukraine—for which he was recruited despite having gone blind.
Nikolai Ogolobyak, 33, was meant to remain behind bars until 2030 for his role in what Yaroslavl authorities described as a satanic cult: He and several other members were accused of murdering four teenagers in 2008 during two separate “rituals.” Convicted and sentenced in 2010, Ogolobyak received the harshest sentence, as he was the only member of the group who was of legal age at the time of the murders.
But Ogolobyak is already back home after receiving a pardon to go fight in Ukraine, a source familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast, adding that Ogolobyak was enlisted for the war despite having gone blind while in prison. “How could they take someone like that for the war?”
Ogolobyak’s father confirmed to local media that his son had spent six months in the Russian Defense Ministry’s “Storm Z” unit, a Wagner-inspired army unit made up of convicts freed from prison to keep the war afloat.
“After being wounded, he’s disabled,” Ogolobyak’s father told 76.ru, adding that his son returned from the hospital on Nov. 2. “He’s walking, but the wound was severe. He is not working right now, just recovering.”
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