Suspect linked to the killing of nine Ukrainian soldiers from the 1st Tank Brigade in October 2024
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has captured a Russian serviceman responsible for executing Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia's Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 19 January.
The capture marks a rare instance of accountability amid a war crime epidemic that has claimed at least 263 Ukrainian prisoners since Russia's full-scale invasion began. The detained soldier is believed to be connected to the October 2024 execution of nine defenders from the 1st Heavy Mechanized Brigade near Zeleny Shlyakh in Kursk Oblast.
"Every Russian murderer must be held accountable for their actions. And so it will be," Zelenskyy stated after receiving a report from SBU Deputy Head Major General Oleksandr Poklad.
Without mercy: Russia's murder of nine surrendering Ukrainian soldiers
According to DeepState and sources within the 1st Heavy Mechanized Brigade, Russian forces executed the Ukrainian soldiers on 10 October 2024 near the village of Zeleny Shlyakh in Kursk Oblast's Sudzhansky district. The Ukrainian troops had advanced to what they believed was a relatively safe position, only to encounter Russian forces. They resisted until their ammunition was depleted, then surrendered.
Drone imagery from the 1st Heavy Mechanized Brigade subsequently confirmed the mass execution. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal investigation on 13 October, treating the killings as a severe violation of the laws and customs of war.
"Shoot them on the spot": Executions escalating as a systematic Russian policy
The Kursk capture comes amid an epidemic of POW executions. As of July 2025, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have documented at least 268 cases of Ukrainian prisoners being executed on the battlefield. Notably, most of these deaths occurred in 2024 and 2025 alone.
Despite these documented crimes, only two Russians have been convicted. A third trial is currently ongoing.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission confirmed 79 executions in 24 separate incidents since August 2024. Importantly, monitors noted that Russian public officials have explicitly called for killing captured Ukrainians.
"Prisoners are not needed, shoot them on the spot”, one Russian deputy brigade commander told troops. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine documented this in a 19 March 2025 report, based on testimony from Russian deserters.
Chasing justice: Ukraine prosecutes the war criminals it can catch
The SBU has previously captured and charged Russian soldiers for POW executions. In November 2025, a Zaporizhzhia court sentenced Dmitry Kurashov to life imprisonment for shooting 41-year-old veteran Vitalii Hodniuk at point-blank range—Ukraine's first such conviction with the defendant physically present.
Another Russian soldier, Sergiy Tuzhilov, faces life imprisonment for executing bound Ukrainian prisoners during fighting near Vovchansk in June 2024. The SBU investigation found he "personally fired a shot from his service automatic rifle into the back of the head of a bound Ukrainian soldier."
The pattern is consistent: Russian forces capture surrendering Ukrainians, then execute them, often filming the killings for social media. The Financial Times identified Russian soldiers posting execution videos online while their units received honors from Putin.
