Top-flight footballer dead at 43 after signing up for war

ok.co.uk:

Former Russian football star Aleksei Bugayev, who once played for Moscow clubs Torpedo and Lokomotiv, has tragically lost his life while fighting in the conflict with Ukraine.The 43 year old, who also earned seven caps for the Russian national team and was part of the squad at Euro 2004, joined Vladimir Putin's forces after a drug trafficking conviction.

After retiring from football in 2010 at the age of 29, Bugayev faced personal struggles and was caught up in a drug trafficking operation last year.

He was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison in September for attempting to sell almost half a kilogram of methylephedrine, a substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.

Reports suggest that Bugayev could have faced a 20-year sentence had he not pleaded guilty in court. Since his conviction, he expressed his intention to join the war in Ukraine, as Russia is known to recruit prisoners for the ongoing conflict.