On the night of January 13, 2020, the Russian Vladislav Kanyus brutally murdered his 23-year-old ex-girlfriend, Vera Pekhteleva. For hours, neighbors listened to Pekhteleva scream in agony and repeatedly called the police, but by the time officers arrived, she was dead. Kanyus was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while the officers on duty were convicted of criminal negligence and sentenced to probation.

But earlier this month, Pekhteleva’s mother learned that her daughter’s killer had been recruited from prison to fight in the war in Ukraine — and was subsequently pardoned by Vladimir Putin.