Russian outlets are reporting that Alexey Bugayev, Russian football player, has died 43 during the war in Ukraine. Bugayev, aged 43, was killed in combat, and his body could not be recovered "due to intense fighting", said his former agent.
Bugayev played in five different clubs between 2001 and 2010, the most well known being Lokomotiv Moscow, as well as Torpedo Moscow, Tom Tomsk, Khimki and Krasnodar. He also played seven times with Russian's national squad, including two games in the UEFA Euro 2004, against hosts Portugal and eventual champions Greece.
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He retired in 2010, aged 29. During his years as a player, he had some legal troubles by dealing drugs. Then, in 2023, he was arrested on drug trafficking charged and sentenced to nearly ten years in prison. He decided to commute his sentence by agreeing to go to war. Reports say he was arrested with 500 grams of mephedrone, similar to amphetamine and cathinone.
In an umpopular war, Putin has opted to look for prisoners as potential military recruits. In the case of this former football player and former drug dealer, it has cost him his life. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, FIFA banned Russia from all competitions.