One of Russia’s most decorated battlefield heroes was exposed as the alleged brain of a brutal fraud arrangement in which elite soldiers reportedly shot down – and even their own commander – to collect lucrative combat damage payments, according to local reports.
Researchers claim that Lieutenant -Kolonel Konstantin Frolov – nicknamed “The Executioner” for his sniper skills – not just his heroic Russian newspaper Kommersant.
The outlet said that a former Brigad commander, Artem Gorodilov, was also involved in the case.
At least 35 officers in the Russian elite unit, the prestigious 83rd separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, reportedly was out of the fight and each collected nearly $ 40,000, the outlet reported.
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Russian soldiers in Central Moscow on May 9, 2025. (Stringer/AFP)
Frolov was honored during the three-year war of President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, with the survival of five small and two serious wounds, reported Kommersant and added that his alleged courage earned him four “courageous orders of courage” with two extra medals for Valor.
Researchers now claim that those wounds have been performed. Frolov eventually admitted that he had ordered his soldiers to deliberately shoot him down, ensuring that bullets missed his vital organs, according to the Russian report.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin led the Kremlin in a war against Ukraine for three years. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The scandal broke out last summer when a whistleblowers warned the authorities, Kommersant reported. Frolov was arrested in June 2024, followed by Gorodilov a month later, said the outlet, adding that both are now being accused of fraud.
Moreover, Frolov reportedly held three trapped pistols, a machine gun, magazines with ammunition, various mines and grenades, according to Kommersant. The Colonel is accused of bribery and illegal human trafficking in weapons and ammunition, the outlet reported.
Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack, Monday 8 July 2024. Lt. Colonel Konstantin Frolov is said to have forgone countless combat injuries during the war in Russia against Ukraine. (AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka)
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According to Open Data, Gorodilov was also accused of fraud on a “particularly large -scale”, the outlet reported.
