Kathrine Frich
The Kremlin is facing growing pressure to sustain its forces.
Russia is currently loosing more than a thousand soldiers daily, forcing Moscow to widen its recruitment efforts.
From prisoners to socially vulnerable groups, Putin’ army has increasingly recruited men from the margins and now, one case shows just how far that reach extends.
Criminal past
Gianni Cenni, 52, had a long criminal history before joining Russian forces.
According to reports cited by O2, he was convicted of murder in 1999 after killing a security guard in Milan and served around a decade in prison.
Years later, in 2022, he was accused of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl and was convicted the following year.
Flight and enlistment
Before serving his sentence, Cenni fled Italy and reportedly moved through Finland and Spain before eventually arriving in Russia.
There, he worked in an Italian restaurant in the city of Samara and is said to have married a Russian woman.
He later signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry and was sent to fight in Ukraine.
Capture and return
In early 2025, Cenni was captured by Ukrainian forces near Kupiansk.
He was treated in a hospital in Kharkiv before being transferred to a prisoner-of-war facility.
According to Italy’s ANSA news agency, he returned to Italy on March 25.
Arrest on arrival
Upon landing at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, Cenni was immediately detained by Italian authorities.
Officers from the Carabinieri, border police and international units carried out the arrest based on an existing prison order issued by prosecutors in Naples.
He is expected to serve a sentence of seven years and two months.
Sources: ANSA, Euromaidan Press, O2.
