Aleksei Bugayev, a former Russian international footballer who played at Euro 2004, has died aged 43 while fighting in Ukraine.
The ex-defender, who represented Russia at the 2004 European Championship, was confirmed dead by his father, Ivan Bugayev, in a statement to Russian publication Sport24. The news was later reported by TASS news agency.
Bugayev, who had been serving a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence for drug trafficking charges in southern Russia since September, declared his intention to fight for Vladimir Putin’s forces. Russian authorities have been actively recruiting prisoners to join the military amid the ongoing conflict.
According to Bugayev’s agent, Anton Smirnov, the intense fighting in the region has prevented the immediate recovery of the former footballer’s body.
Born in Russia, Bugayev began his professional career with Torpedo Moscow in 2001 and went on to play for clubs such as Tom Tomsk, Lokomotiv Moscow, Khimki, and Krasnodar, retiring from football in 2010 at the age of 29.
Bugayev earned seven caps for the Russian national team as a central defender, including two appearances at the 2004 UEFA European Championship in Portugal. He played the full 90 minutes in Russia’s 2-0 defeat to Portugal and later featured in the 2-1 victory over Greece, who would go on to win the tournament.
Despite the win, Russia failed to progress past the group stage, and Bugayev retired from international football the following year.
Bugayev’s death follows a statement from the English Football Association, which confirmed that England would not play Russia in any international football matches while the ongoing conflict persists. The FA expressed solidarity with Ukraine and condemned the actions of Russia’s leadership.
The tragic news comes amid efforts to restart peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently indicated openness to a Slovakian proposal to host negotiations to end the nearly three-year conflict.
However, Putin also mentioned the potential use of a new hypersonic missile, Oreshnik, to achieve Russia’s goals, raising concerns over further escalation.
The Slovakian government, led by Prime Minister Robert Fico, has faced criticism from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for his perceived support of Russia.
