Artur Taimazov, the 2004 Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling, went to fight for Russia. Propagandist Semyon Pegov posted evidence of the State Duma deputy's presence on his Telegram channel.

"We were lucky enough to meet Artur Taimazov, a three-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling, a famous Ossetian athlete and now a State Duma deputy, on the Donbass frontline. Sources close to the legend said that Artur was looking at local, Donetsk-based units to decide which one he would go to fight for," Pegov wrote.

Later, Taimazov himself confirmed that he was going to kill Ukrainians.

"I won't disclose any details, but I can promise one thing: we will definitely fight with the best units. Since I was once deprived of my well-deserved medals, I will prove in reality what techniques there are in wrestling!" - the athlete wrote on his Telegram channel.

Taimazov also won at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but the IOC later stripped him of those gold medals for doping.

Only verified information in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and in Viber . Do not be fooled by fakes!