A notorious killer from the Odessa gang "Yuzhnye," Stepan Kiosse, is reportedly fighting against Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation, according to sources in Ukrainian intelligence structures cited by "Dumskaia." Kiosse was wanted on suspicion of murdering farmer Petr Karagyaur and criminal authority Yuri Asarzhi in 2017, and was detained in Russia in 2021 for allegedly murdering an associate, Nikolai Dolapchi.

The report further states that Kiosse was recruited in a Russian pre-trial detention center in 2022, signing a contract with the Wagner Private Military Company and continuing service in other Russian army units after its disbandment. Additionally, Nikolai Tarasov, convicted for the 2019 murder of 11-year-old Daria Lukyanenko, reportedly defected to the Russian side after the capture of the Darievskaya colony No. 10 in the Kherson region, subsequently joining the Russian army. His current whereabouts are unknown.