Captured Russian marine executed Ukrainian commander on superior’s order, prosecutors say

Ukrainian prosecutors have formally charged a captured Russian marine with executing an Ukrainian unit commander near Pokrovsk, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office announced on August 20th. According to investigators, the suspect took the 34-year-old Ukrainian commander to a forest belt after interrogating him and shot him in the back of the head upon orders from his superiors.

This case adds to Ukraine's ongoing efforts to prosecute Russian troops accused of executing or abusing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs). Since 2024, Ukrainian investigators and UN monitors have documented a growing pattern of Russian forces executing captured Ukrainian troops. The alleged gunman is now in Ukrainian custody, paving the way for a trial.

The prosecutor's office also revealed that Russian troops killed a second Ukrainian prisoner, named neither in the statement. The incident occurred when Russian assault units attempted to capture Shakhove on the Pokrovsk front since May 2025. On October 10th, 2025, a small Russian infantry group entered the village's outskirts and captured two Ukrainian service members, including the commander.

After the interrogation, the suspect allegedly took the commander to a forest belt and executed him with an automatic rifle. The other Ukrainian prisoner was also killed. The suspect, a 34-year-old from Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, served as a rifleman in the 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade. He was captured by Ukrainian forces during fighting in the same sector, though the exact timing remains undisclosed.

Prosecutors charged him with cruel treatment of prisoners of war resulting in death, a war crime under Ukrainian law.