Aleksey Bugaev, a former Russian footballer, was killed on December 29th at the front in the Russia-Ukraine war.
He was killed in the Northern Military District, according to his lawyer Anton Smirnov. Bugaev had been stationed there since September 2024 after being convicted of drug trafficking.
Bugaev had reportedly signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense but had hoped to avoid frontline combat due to his extensive sports career. However, three months after his conviction and deployment to the warzone, he was killed.
“Unfortunately, the news of his death is true. How did this happen? How do they kill during combat? I don’t know, it happened today,” said his father, Ivan Bugaev, who was completely devastated.
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In the featured photo, you can see him as the fourth from the left. He wore the number 21.
Bugaev first introduced himself to the world at Torpedo Moscow, and he also played for Tomsk, Lokomotiv Moscow, Khimki, and Krasnodar. He earned seven caps for the Russian national team and participated in the 2004 European Championship.
He was recently sentenced to nine and a half years in prison after half a kilogram of narcotics was found in his possession. In his testimony, he repeatedly stated his desire to expose his accomplices, yet he still received a harsh sentence.
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Source: Nova.rs, Photo: Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP