A convict and crime boss nicknamed Ariets deserted from the army

A well-known crime boss nicknamed “Aryets,” whose real name is Volodymyr Shcheholkov, escaped from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As the website detective-info writes, this became known from the Ministry of Internal Affairs wanted database.

According to case materials, on November 1 of last year Aryets was mobilized into the Ukrainian army, where he became a scout in the 1st reconnaissance unit of the reconnaissance platoon of the 2nd rifle battalion of one of the military units. But just two days later Shcheholkov disappeared from the reception point for special personnel, which was temporarily located on the territory of the Zhovkva City Council of Lviv region. After this, he was charged in absentia and put on the wanted list.

Shcheholkov is now 44 years old. He became widely known in the early 2010s, when he was the overseer of the Simferopol pre-trial detention center. Media wrote that the administration staff allowed him to temporarily leave the detention center.

After several prison terms, he was released in September 2023. A year later he was detained and taken to the TCC and SP (Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center), mobilized, but he deserted. According to rumors, Shcheholkov left Ukraine.

According to media reports, in eight months 142,000 people deserted from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.