Russian citizens charged in absentia with war crimes over torture of Ukrainian civilians

Two Russian citizens who allegedly abused Ukrainian civilian captives while working at a penal colony in the city of Donskoy in the Tula Region (Oblast) have been served notices of suspicion in absentia for violating the laws and customs of war, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

Suspects. Photo: Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People

The suspects are Aleksei Kochetov and Evgenii Miasnikov. The latter already faces another notice of suspicion in absentia for allegedly forcing captured Ukrainian soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to drink from a puddle and, along with a colleague, cutting them with scissors.

The new notice of suspicion relates to the torture of four men illegally detained in the Kyiv Oblast in March 2022.

“The colony staff beat the Ukrainians with their hands, feet and rubber batons on various parts of their bodies, and also applied electric shocks to them. Such treatment was systematic and was accompanied by psychological violence against the civilians, who were under the full control of the Russian penitentiary system,” investigators say.

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As detailed by the Book of Executioners of the Ukrainian People project, Kochetov allegedly forced a prone man to assume a “push-up” position, slapped his face, kicked his torso and stood on his back.

Regarding Miasnikov, he allegedly forced one of the victims to hang on a metal grille, punched him in the stomach, and after the man jumped down, struck his leg and neck with a stun gun.

If convicted by a court, both face from 8 to 12 years in prison for their actions.

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To provide background, more than 2,600 Ukrainian civilian captives remain in Russian captivity, held without legal representation, medical assistance or contact with their relatives.

ZMINA earlier reported in Ukrainian on the stories of several civilian captives, including Vasyl Dmytryk, Oleksandr Kurdin, Oleksandr Malovanyi and Viktor Bondarenko.

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