Former Belgorod mayor killed in Ukraine after going to war from prison

Konstantin Polezhayev, the former mayor of Belgorod and former deputy governor of the Belgorod region, headed the city from 2015 to 2019. He later became deputy governor of the region.

In 2024, a court found Polezhayev guilty of accepting a bribe of 18 million rubles (approximately $220,000). He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Shortly before the sentence took effect, Polezhayev signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry. He then went to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine.

After the former official went to the front, a Russian appeals court suspended proceedings in his case.

According to media reports, the former mayor of Belgorod was killed while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine. No details about the circumstances of his death have been provided so far.

The Vivaldi offensive operation, carried out by Ukraine's Third Army Corps, is currently underway in the northern part of the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian forces previously drove Russian troops out of the village of Serednie without suffering any losses, fully clearing the settlement and bringing it under their control.

Meanwhile, over the course of a week, troops from the corps advanced in several more areas in the northern Donetsk region, although some of the liberated settlements have not yet been disclosed for tactical reasons.