A Ukrainian court has handed down the first life sentence to a Russian soldier convicted of killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitry Kurashov, 27, was found guilty of murdering Vitalii Hodniuk, a 41-year-old Ukrainian soldier who had surrendered to Russian forces after being captured in January 2024.
According to Ukrainian prosecutors, forensic evidence, eyewitness testimony, and video footage confirmed that Kurashov deliberately shot and killed Hodniuk despite him being unarmed and compliant. The killing took place in the Zaporizhzhia region, in southeastern Ukraine.
Investigators said Russian commanders had ordered their troops not to take Ukrainian soldiers prisoner, a directive that violated the laws of war.
A Crime on the Battlefield
During the months-long trial that began earlier this year, prosecutors told the court that Kurashov’s military unit had stormed Ukrainian positions near the front line. As Hodniuk emerged from a hiding trench with his hands raised, unarmed, Kurashov fired several rounds at close range from his AK-47 rifle, killing him instantly.
Kurashov and his unit were later captured by Ukrainian forces and detained as POWs.
Initially, Kurashov pleaded guilty, claiming he wanted to speed up his trial and be included in a future prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. However, he later retracted his confession, alleging that a Russian army medic now deceased was responsible for the fatal shooting.
His claim was rejected after other captured Russian soldiers from his unit testified that Kurashov was the only person present when the shooting occurred. “No Remorse Shown,” Prosecutors Say
Kurashov did not testify in his own defense. His lawyer, Anna Karpenko, told the court that her client “deeply regretted” the killing and insisted he was only following orders.
However, lead prosecutor Nikita Manevsky dismissed those claims, saying Kurashov showed “no genuine remorse” throughout the trial. “He demonstrated nothing but indifference,” Manevsky said, emphasizing that the verdict was an important precedent for holding Russian soldiers accountable for war crimes.
From Prisoner to Soldier
Kurashov had previously been serving a sentence in Russia for theft before being recruited into the Russian army as part of the Storm V unit a formation composed largely of convicts promised freedom in exchange for fighting in Ukraine.
In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, Kurashov revealed that prison authorities told inmates their sentences would be wiped clean if they enlisted to fight.
The Storm V units, known for their minimal training and high casualty rates, are often deployed to the frontline’s most dangerous sectors, sometimes as expendable assault troops.
Pattern of Executions
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), more than 150 Ukrainian POWs have been executed by Russian troops since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian prosecutors say such killings appear to follow a systematic pattern, taking place across multiple regions.
While some allegations have also been made against Ukrainian forces for killing Russian POWs, international observers note that the number of such cases is far smaller compared to those attributed to Russian troops.
