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 said that expert reports, witness testimony and video footage from the scene 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 which began earlier this year, the court heard how Kurashov's unit stormed a Ukrainian position in the region of Zaporizhzhia on the morning of 6 January 2024.
The prosecution stated that although Hodniuk crawled out of a dugout unarmed and surrendered, Kurashov shot him point-blank with several aimed AK-47 shots, violating the laws of war.
Kurashov and the rest of his unit were later overpowered by Ukrainian forces and taken as prisoners of war.
Initially pleading guilty, Kurashov later retracted, claiming a Russian medic—who subsequently died—was responsible for the shots that killed Hodniuk. However, this narrative was contradicted by other captured members of his unit.
They testified that they saw Hodniuk emerge unarmed and with hands raised at the moment Kurashov called for surrender, with no other soldiers nearby when the gunfire erupted.
Kurashov didn't testify, but his lawyer emphasized that he believes he was merely following orders from above to avoid taking any prisoners.
The prosecutor argued Kurashov displayed indifference throughout the trial, with no evidence of remorse for his actions.
Earlier this year, Kurashov told the BBC he had joined the Storm V assault unit to receive an early release from a Russian penal colony, reflecting a troubling trend of convict recruitment in the ongoing conflict.
The court's decision comes amid allegations of numerous battlefield executions of POWs by Russian forces since the invasion began, with Ukrainian authorities recording over 150 documented cases.
While both sides have faced accusations of wartime misconduct, the Ukrainian military holds that such executions by Russian troops are indicative of a broader operational directive.
