“The Butcher from Suntar”, twice released under contract with the Russian Defense Ministry, arrested for the fourth murder

In Yakutsk, 38-year-old Viktor Savvinov, known as the “butcher from Suntar,” was arrested on suspicion of the fourth murder. He was twice convicted of murder, but both times he was released from prison, having signed a contract to participate in the war against Ukraine.

Saavinov went to jail for the first time in 2020 – he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the murder of a woman. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, he signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and went to the war zone.

Returning to his native village of Kuntar in 2024, he committed two more murders – first he killed his drinking companion, and then his 64-year-old uncle, who did not let him into the house. The case received a great public outcry, and that’s when he got his nickname.

In October 2024, the court sentenced him to 20 years in prison, after which he again went on a “special military operation.” He was wounded and sent to the hospital, from where he deserted, Novaya Gazeta reports.