A Ukrainian court has issued a life sentence to Russian soldier Dmitry Kurashov, 27, after he was found guilty of killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war. This marks the first life imprisonment sentence against a Russian soldier for such an offense in Ukraine.
Details of the Incident
The trial, which commenced earlier this year, centered on an incident that occurred on January 6, 2024, in the Zaporizhzhia region. Kurashov's unit had stormed a Ukrainian position. Following the confrontation, 41-year-old Ukrainian veteran Vitalii Hodniuk surrendered. The prosecution alleged that Kurashov then shot Hodniuk at close range with an AK-47, despite Hodniuk being unarmed.
Ukraine's national police reported that "expert reports, witness testimony, and video footage from the scene confirmed that the Russian soldier deliberately killed the POW." The police also stated that Kurashov's commanders had instructed troops not to take Ukrainian soldiers captive. Kurashov and his unit were subsequently captured by Ukrainian forces.
Court Proceedings and Testimony
During the trial, Kurashov initially pleaded guilty but later retracted his confession. He stated that his initial plea was an attempt to expedite the trial, hoping for release in a prisoner exchange. Kurashov then claimed that a Russian medic, who later died, was responsible for Hodniuk's death.
However, other members of Kurashov's unit, who were also captured, contradicted his account. They testified that they witnessed Hodniuk emerge from a dugout unarmed with his hands raised after Kurashov called for Ukrainian soldiers to surrender. While they did not directly witness the shooting due to simultaneous explosions, they stated that only Kurashov was in the immediate vicinity when gunshots were heard. One witness also claimed the medic accused by Kurashov was not present at the scene of the killing.
Kurashov himself did not testify. His lawyer, Anna Karpenko, reportedly stated that her client "sincerely repented" and believed he was following orders from superiors to take no prisoners. Prosecutor Nikita Manevsky argued that Kurashov demonstrated "no remorse" and "nothing but indifference" throughout the trial.
Kurashov's Background and Military Recruitment
Kurashov had previously informed the BBC that he joined the "Storm V" assault unit in exchange for early release from a Russian penal colony, where he was serving a sentence for theft. He stated that Russian military representatives had promised convicts their sentences would be expunged if they enlisted for service in Ukraine.
The recruitment of prisoners to fight in Ukraine by Russia is a documented practice. These convicts are often assigned to "Storm V" penal military units, which are frequently described as poorly trained. These units are reportedly deployed in "meat grinder" assaults, a tactic involving continuous waves of soldiers to deplete Ukrainian forces and reveal their positions to Russian artillery.
Broader Context of Prisoner Treatment
The Ukrainian intelligence directorate (HUR) reported over 150 instances of battlefield executions of prisoners of war by Russian soldiers since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Last year, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office characterized these executions as having "clear signs of being part of a policy," citing their widespread occurrence.
Ukrainian forces have also faced accusations of executing Russian prisoners of war, though the reported number of such claims is fewer.