The 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced in absentia 41-year-old actor Kirill Kanakhin, who went to Ukraine and joined the «Russian Volunteer Corps» (RDK), to life imprisonment, TASS and RIA Novosti report.
The prosecutor's office requested the same punishment for Kanakhin. The actor, who previously starred in TV series and worked at the Moscow Theater of the Moon, was found guilty of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code).
According to the prosecution, Kanakhin participated in a saboteur raid in the Bryansk region in early March 2023. The RDK took responsibility for it. According to the Baza telegram channel, the actor “fought for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kherson direction,” and also allegedly took part in the Belgorod raid in May 2023.
According to Mediazona, from July 14, 2023 Kanakhin is on the federal wanted list. The court clarified to TASS that the actor was also put on the international wanted list. In early November, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow arrested actor Kanakhin in absentia.
According to Shot, during a hearing in the 2nd Western District Military Court, Kanakhin’s cousins said that the actor moved to Ukraine back in 2012.
Previously, the same court sentenced in absentia the founder of the RDK and neo-Nazi Denis Kapustinain the case of a raid by saboteurs in the Bryansk region. Kapustin was accused of treason, attempted terrorist attack, creation of a terrorist community and purchase of explosives.
As a result of the raid, according to Russian authorities, two men were killed and a boy was wounded. 29-year-old far-right activist Alexei Ogurtsov was also arrested in absentia in this case.