Officer of the Russian National Guard Nikita Osnovin accused in absentia of involvement in the murder of a civilian during the occupation of Kherson
Nikita Osnovin, an operative of the First Combat Detachment of the “Vega” Special Rapid Response Unit of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia), is suspected in absentia of violating the laws and customs of war, including the abduction and torture of a civilian, which led to his death, as reported by ZMINA, citing the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Nikita OsnovinFrom July to the end of October 2022, Osnovin, along with servicemen and employees of the “Temporary Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the Kherson region,” illegally persecuted civilians in Kherson.
The occupiers abducted and forcibly transported victims to a torture chamber in Detention Center No. 1 on Teploenerhetykiv Street, 3. People were held there for long periods, tortured, and some were killed.
The investigation established that on July 25, 2022, Osnovin, as part of a group of 25 armed servicemen, broke into the private residence of a Kherson resident. The man’s home was illegally searched, he was beaten, and taken to the torture chamber. The man was abused and held in inhumane conditions in one of the cells, where he died on July 9, 2022.
If Rosgvardia officer Osnovin is found guilty, he could face 8 to 12 years in prison.
The Russian Federation deployed Rosgvardia units to Kherson in early March 2022.
In Russia itself, Rosgvardia officers are usually used to suppress protests. As researchers at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) note, these security forces are known for their particular brutality towards any population within their jurisdiction.
The Russian authorities may have stationed tens of thousands of Rosgvardia officers in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Earlier, the so-called Deputy Head of the Occupation Administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, Artur Saidov, was accused of imprisoning and torturing a Ukrainian policeman.
