A Russian serviceman, Vladimir Ivanov, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District Court on February 20, after being convicted of a war crime for the intentional murder of two unarmed Ukrainian territorial defense fighters who had surrendered, Slidstvo.Info reports from the courtroom.
The court partially granted the claim against the Russian Federation and Ivanov, awarding UAH 50 million ($1.2 million) in moral damages to the son of Viktor Liapota, an executed prisoner of war. The original claim sought UAH 100 million ($2.3 million).
A judicial panel at Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District Court today, February 20, announced the verdict regarding Russian serviceman Vladimir Ivanov. Ivanov was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of war crimes and intentional murder under parts 1 and 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The court ruled that the crimes were committed by a group of persons acting in concert.
Ivanov previously pleaded guilty.
At a preceding hearing on February 18, Vladimir Ivanov was granted the opportunity to deliver a final statement.
“The only thing I can ask is that you do not punish me too severely,” the Russian soldier told the court.
However, the judges dismissed his plea, concluding that Ivanov’s expression of remorse was insincere.
The executions took place on January 9, 2025, in a forest near the village of Guyevo in Sudzha district, Kursk Oblast, Russia. Ivanov, call sign “Yary,” a 53-year-old member of Russia’s 40th Separate Marine Brigade, along with comrades using callsigns “Bely,” “Lebed” and “Bum,” shot the two Ukrainian servicemen — Ivan Kondratiuk and Viktor Liapota of the 241st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade — with Kalashnikov rifles after they had laid down their weapons, raised their hands and offered no resistance.
The bodies of the Ukrainian fighters could not be evacuated because Russian forces mined them, a Ukrainian military witness testified in court. As a result, the families have been unable to bury their loved ones.
The killings were captured on video by a Ukrainian drone.
“Special Operations Forces operators saw from a drone how three Russians executed our brothers-in-arms from the territorial defense forces. A decision was made to track down this enemy group. During a carefully planned operation, Special Operations Forces soldiers killed two enemy soldiers in combat and captured three more,” said a statement from the Special Operations Forces.
Vladimir Ivanov, callsign “Yary,” was captured by fighters, while three of his accomplices, also involved in the shooting of the territorial defense fighers, were eliminated.
The order to execute came from an unidentified commander with the call sign “Ryazan.”
Ivanov, 53, born in Sevastopol and holder of a Russian passport from Chelyabinsk Oblast, is married and has a minor child.
This is the third in-person life sentence handed down in Ukraine for the battlefield execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Previous similar convictions went to captured Russians Dmitry Kurashov and Sergey Tuzhilov. The Office of the Prosecutor General has stated that Russian soldiers who commit serious crimes are not included in prisoner exchanges.
