A Ukrainian court has handed down the first jail sentence for life against a Russian soldier accused of killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war. Dmitry Kurashov, 27, was found guilty of shooting dead Vitalii Hodniuk, a veteran 41-year-old Ukrainian soldier who had surrendered following capture in 2024.
Ukraine's national police reported that expert reports, witness testimony, and video footage confirmed that the Russian soldier deliberately killed the POW on the orders of his commanders, who had instructed troops not to take Ukrainian soldiers captive.
In a months-long trial that began earlier this year, it was revealed that Kurashov's unit stormed a Ukrainian position in Zaporizhzhia on 6 January 2024. Prosecutors indicated that despite Hodniuk crawling out unarmed and surrendered, Kurashov shot him point-blank multiple times with an AK-47.
Kurashov initially pleaded guilty but later retracted, claiming he did so to expedite the trial hoping for a release in a prisoner swap. His assertion that a Russian medic fired the shots was contradicted by other captured unit members.
During the trial, one witness noted that Hodniuk had surrendered with his hands up, and Kurashov was the only one around when shots were fired. Kurashov's defense maintained that he was simply following orders, yet prosecutors argued he displayed indifference throughout the trial.
While he was originally part of a penal military unit, Kurashov's recruitment was part of a strategy by the Russian military to recruit convicts in exchange for sentence reductions. The ongoing conflict has seen widespread accusations of unlawful executions of prisoners of war, with even Ukrainian forces facing fewer claims of similar actions against Russian POWs.
This case highlights the challenges and complexities of wartime legal proceedings and the treatment of captured soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Ukraine's national police reported that expert reports, witness testimony, and video footage confirmed that the Russian soldier deliberately killed the POW on the orders of his commanders, who had instructed troops not to take Ukrainian soldiers captive.
In a months-long trial that began earlier this year, it was revealed that Kurashov's unit stormed a Ukrainian position in Zaporizhzhia on 6 January 2024. Prosecutors indicated that despite Hodniuk crawling out unarmed and surrendered, Kurashov shot him point-blank multiple times with an AK-47.
Kurashov initially pleaded guilty but later retracted, claiming he did so to expedite the trial hoping for a release in a prisoner swap. His assertion that a Russian medic fired the shots was contradicted by other captured unit members.
During the trial, one witness noted that Hodniuk had surrendered with his hands up, and Kurashov was the only one around when shots were fired. Kurashov's defense maintained that he was simply following orders, yet prosecutors argued he displayed indifference throughout the trial.
While he was originally part of a penal military unit, Kurashov's recruitment was part of a strategy by the Russian military to recruit convicts in exchange for sentence reductions. The ongoing conflict has seen widespread accusations of unlawful executions of prisoners of war, with even Ukrainian forces facing fewer claims of similar actions against Russian POWs.
This case highlights the challenges and complexities of wartime legal proceedings and the treatment of captured soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
