In 2024, the Tigil District Court of the Kamchatka Krai sentenced Denis Lastochkin to three years of suspended imprisonment for animal cruelty (Article 245 of the Russian Criminal Code), as reported by the publication "Novaya Gazeta Europe."
Lastochkin participated in combat operations in Ukraine as part of the Wagner PMC and was awarded, although the exact time and place of his service were not specified. The court recognized these circumstances as mitigating.
According to the investigation materials, Lastochkin's acquaintance Gennady Guskov, who was planning to move, decided to get rid of three cats and asked the Wagner fighter to kill them with a hammer, offering 5,000 rubles for it.
The case states: "Lastochkin grabbed the cat with his right hand, slammed it against the wall, stunning it, and then struck it at least four times on the head with a hammer, causing injuries that led to the animal's death."
Regional media had already reported on this crime in 2024, but at that time, Lastochkin's participation in the war in Ukraine was not mentioned.
Earlier, a namesake of Lastochkin was convicted three times for robbery and once for car theft. In 2020, he was sentenced to 4.5 years in a penal colony and, at the time of the animal killings, should have been serving his sentence.