Russian commander Denis Kuznetsov has been notified of suspicion in absentia for the shooting of a civilian car in Bucha

In the Kyiv region, a Russian soldier has been notified of suspicion in absentia for violating the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder, according to the National Police of Ukraine. He is allegedly involved in the shooting of civilians in a car. 

The suspect Denis Kuznetsov

The suspect’s name was not explicitly stated in the police report; however, the Office of the Prosecutor General recently published a document regarding a Russian citizen, Denis Kuznetsov, whose details match those in the police report.

In 2022, Kuznetsov served as a combat vehicle commander in a unit of the 234th Air Assault Regiment of the 76th Air Assault Division of the Russian Airborne Forces. As part of this grouping, he occupied Bucha, where he and his combat vehicle crew controlled an intersection. Specifically, this was the intersection of Nove Shose and Deputatska streets, where an enemy checkpoint had been established near a gas station.

According to investigators, around 10:00 AM on March 7, 2022, a Mitsubishi Colt drove past the checkpoint and was fired upon following Kuznetsov’s order. The three civilians inside were traveling from Bucha toward Vorzel; they died on the spot from their injuries.

“The attack was carried out intentionally, without any military necessity,” law enforcement officials emphasized.

By court decision, Kuznetsov may be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.

To provide background, earlier in 2025, a Russian soldier named Roman Nikolaenko was notified of suspicion in absentia; he is believed to have ordered the shooting of civilian vehicles in the Kyiv Oblast.

Earlier, ZMINA reported that UN experts have identified a pattern in the Russian military’s attacks on civilians in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions. These cases are linked by the fact that the victims were traveling to find food, were dressed in civilian clothing without weapons, and some vehicles even had the word “Children” (Діти) written on the windows.

Among those killed in 2022 on the Kyiv–Chop highway was the Yatsyuk family; the body of their eldest daughter was found on the territory of Belarus only a year later.