Satanic Cult Member Jailed For Ritual Murders Pardoned By Putin After Fighting In Ukraine

Nikolai Ogolobyak's father told a Russian news outlet that the 33-year-old served with Russia's "Storm Z" unit and is now at home.

A man in Russia, who confessed to being a member of a Satanic cult and was serving 20-year prison sentence for killing four teenagers for a "ritual", has been freed. According to Newsweek, Nikolai Ogolobyak has been pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in exchange for his participation in the war in Ukraine. He was sentenced in July 2010 on charges of murder, robbery, and desecrating a dead body, the outlet further said. There are also claims that members of the cult ate their victims' organs at Ogolobyak's apartment, according to court document cited by Russian outlet 76.ru.

One of the members of the cult was named "Hitler", the court documents further said.

Since the start of the Ukraine war in February last year, Russia has been recruiting extensively from prisons to assist its forces.