A Russian serviceman, Dmitry Kurashov, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for executing an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The prosecution proved his guilt in violating the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder.

Source: press services for Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU)

Quote: "It was established that on 6 January 2024, a rifleman from the Storm-V assault unit of the 218th Tank Regiment, 127th Motorised Rifle Division, 5th Army of the Eastern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war during fighting near the village of Pryiutne in the Polohy district."

Details: The PGO noted that this is the first time in Ukraine's history that a Russian soldier has been sentenced to life specifically for the execution of a Ukrainian defender.

According to the prosecutor, the Ukrainian soldier emerged from a dugout without a weapon, raised his hands and clearly indicated he was surrendering. On the Russian soldier's order, he knelt down – at which point the Russian opened fire with an assault rifle. The Ukrainian soldier died on the spot.

Later the same day, following a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Kurashov was captured and handed over to law enforcement.

The Russian soldier was found to have multiple prior convictions in Russia. In order to avoid punishment for theft, he signed a contract with the Russian armed forces in November 2023 and was deployed to fight on the Zaporizhzhia front.

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