Сергей Кибальников. Источник фото: t.me/zhestkamyshin
The Volgograd Regional Court has sentenced 48-year-old businessman Siarhei Kibalnikau to 22 years in a high-security penal colony for the murder of federal judge Vasiliy Vetlugin in Kamyshin. The court found him guilty of murder committed with particular cruelty, destruction of property, modification of a weapon and illegal trafficking of ammunition, Kommersant reported.
According to investigators, on August 14, 2025, Kibalnikau shot the judge with a modified carbine outside the courthouse and then stabbed him. The motive was suspicion that his wife, who worked as a secretary at the same court, was having an affair with Vetlugin.
In addition to the prison term, the convict was sentenced to one and a half years of restricted freedom after release, fined 120,000 Russian rubles, and ordered to pay 7.5 million rubles in moral damages to the victim’s family, as well as compensation for other expenses.
Kibalnikau admitted guilt and said that after the verdict he intended to sign a contract with Russia’s Defence Ministry and go to fight in the war against Ukraine.