The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv has sentenced a Russian soldier to life imprisonment for the shooting of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Points of attention
- A Russian soldier has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the shooting of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Kursk region.
- The soldier committed a war crime by opening fire on Ukrainian defenders who had already surrendered, leading to the death of two prisoners of war.
Occupier will serve life sentence for shooting Ukrainian prisoners of war
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv found a Russian serviceman guilty of a war crime and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The public prosecution was supported by prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office and insisted on this particular punishment.
The convicted person is a soldier of the first marine company of the first battalion of the 40th separate marine brigade of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Armed Forces.
According to the investigation, in January 2025, during fighting in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, he and other soldiers set up an ambush. Two Ukrainian defenders surrendered: they laid down their weapons and raised their hands.
Despite this, the accused opened aimed fire on them. Both prisoners of war died.
The court found that there was no military necessity to use force, and the convict was aware of the criminality of the order and could refuse to carry it out.
The actions of the occupier were qualified as a violation of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of persons, which caused the death of persons protected by international humanitarian law.
The court also partially satisfied the civil lawsuit: UAH 50 million in moral damages was recovered from the convicted person in favor of the injured party.
