Shot, dismembered and set on fire: Russian who killed civilian is identified
Law enforcement officers have identified a Russian soldier who killed a farmer during the occupation of the Kupiansk District, Kharkiv Oblast.
Source: Press service of Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) in Kharkiv Oblast; Prosecutor's office in Kharkiv Oblast
Details: Vitaly Poddubny, a 35-year-old citizen of Russia and soldier of the 7th Separate Motorised Rifle Regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and a resident of Kursk Oblast, turned out to be a war criminal.
A notice of suspicion [a notice of suspicion is an important initial stage of a pre-trial investigation under Ukrainian criminal procedure law - ed.] has been served in absentia to the occupier, based on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war combined with intentional murder.
It was established that in the occupied Ukrainian territories, this criminal, together with other Russian soldiers, was engaged in the search for persons who freely expressed pro-Ukrainian views.
The pre-trial investigation established that on 31 July 2022, Poddubny, together with other Russian military personnel, arrived at a farm in the village of Bezmiatezhne, the Kupiansk district, owned by a man from Zakarpattia Oblast, whom fellow villagers affectionately called ‘Vuiko’ for his patriotic sentiments [nickname of Western Ukrainians, who are traditionally considered to be pro-Ukrainian – ed.].
The soldier got out of the car and told the owner of the farm to come to him under the pretext of helping him repair the car.
During a conversation with a Ukrainian, a Russian soldier killed an unarmed man with a shot to the head.
The killer then tried to cover up the traces of his crime. He cut off the head and all the limbs from the dead body of the Ukrainian, after which he carried the victim's body to the car in which he arrived, doused it with petrol and set it on fire.
A Russian hid the severed body parts in another location, which is currently unknown, the SSU notes.
Comprehensive measures are underway to establish his whereabouts and bring him to justice for crimes against Ukraine.
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