By Olha Hembik | 2025-12-11

He arrived on the battlefield straight from a prison cell. Now he will likely die in one.

A Zaporizhzhia court on November 6 sentenced Russian service member Dmitry Kurashov to life for shooting a Ukrainian rifleman who had laid down his arms, the first verdict of its kind since the invasion began.

The Zavodskyi District Court found the 27-year-old, known by the call sign Stalker, guilty of violating the laws and customs of war. The ruling marked the first time Ukraine prosecuted in person a defendant accused of executing a prisoner of war (POW).

Kurashov told the court he admitted guilt to "speed up the trial" and hoped to be returned to Russia in a future prisoner exchange.

Yaroslav Zhukrovsky, a military lawyer and co-coordinator of the Military Family Support Office, said the case would become a crucial part of the evidence Ukraine plans to provide to international courts.

"Once the war ends, handing over documents and testimonials of war crimes to the international judicial authorities will be a priority," Zhukrovsky told Kontur.

From prison to the front

Kurashov, originally from Gremyachinsk in Russia's Perm region, had cycled in and out of prison for years. He previously served time for attacking an on-duty police officer and escaping custody, and later for theft. He avoided completing his most recent five-year sentence by signing a military contract that sent him to Ukraine.

He joined the Storm-V assault unit of the 128th Tank Regiment of the 127th Motorized Rifle Division and took part in a January 6, 2024 assault on Ukrainian positions near Pryiutne in Zaporizhzhia's Polohy District. Defending the area were fighters from Ukraine's 127th Separate Brigade of the territorial defense forces.

According to the indictment read in court, 41-year-old rifleman Vitaliy Godniuk, call sign Penguin, ran out of ammunition during the assault. He exited a bunker with raised hands. Kurashov ordered him to kneel and fired "at least three aimed shots from a Kalashnikov assault rifle." When Ukrainian troops counterattacked, they found five Ukrainian soldiers dead; Kurashov was among the Russian fighters captured in the position.

Prosecutor Nikita Manevskiy sought the maximum sentence, arguing that Kurashov showed no remorse and had "demonstrated nothing but indifference."

Kurashov first tried to blame a medic in his assault group, known by his call sign Sedoy (Grayhair), who later died. Investigators dismissed the claim after reconstructions and forensic reviews.

Three Russian service members, all former prisoners recruited into the army, testified against him. One witness said he saw Kurashov shoot the POW; the others heard the gunfire.

A commander from the same group told Krym.Realii in February that fighters had been instructed not to take Ukrainian prisoners.

"The order was this ... to storm the Ukrainian positions and take no prisoners. … They told us to 'foam,' meaning to bombard the bunkers [with grenades], and even if someone tries to surrender, it's better not to take them," he said, attributing the directive to a colonel with the call sign Tuman (Fog), identified as the commander of Russia's 5th Army.

Rising executions

Ukrainian authorities reported that, as of early July, they were investigating the executions of 268 Ukrainian POWs, a figure that Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said had "seen a sharp increase … over the past year."

The violence has been amplified by pro-war extremists.

On November 15, neo-Nazi fighter Aleksei Milchakov posted on Telegram a photo of three executed Ukrainian soldiers near Pokrovsk and urged others to emulate the killings, journalist and Ukrainian service member Yuriy Butusov reported.

The next day Milchakov launched a contest offering cash prizes for photos taken beside executed POWs. He had previously issued calls to "kill not only all prisoners but also all Ukrainians, including young children."

Oleksandr Pohrebyskiy, a Kyiv city council member and commander of a drone battalion, said such rhetoric only strengthens Ukrainian resolve.

"These statements have the exact opposite effect: they just make everyone want to fight even more selflessly. Fighters don’t even consider the option of surrendering," he told Kontur.

Ukrainian military intelligence has documented more than 150 POW executions and described them as "part of a systematic and deliberate policy sanctioned at the highest levels of the aggressor state." The Ombudsman's Office also said the killings may reflect orders from Russia's senior military leadership.

Vladyslav Seleznyov, a military correspondent and former spokesman for Ukraine's General Staff, said Ukrainian forces comply with international humanitarian law and guarantee proper treatment for Russian POWs.

"In cases where justice cannot reach [those responsible], the intelligence services will act on the Ukrainian public's demand for fairness. Photos and video evidence only strengthen that effort,” Seleznyov told Kontur.

Butusov wrote in a November Telegram post that Russia's 155th Marine Brigade previously promoted the execution of Ukrainian prisoners. That ended after a July 2 Ukrainian missile strike destroyed the brigade's headquarters in Russia's Kursk Region.

"After that, the 155th Brigade stopped posting videos and photos of executions of prisoners," he wrote.

"They will not be able to avoid retribution," Seleznyov said.