Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast capture former Wagnerite who witnessed execution of POWs

Soldiers of Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade in Russia’s Kursk Oblast have captured a Russian soldier from the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet who says he witnessed the execution of soldiers from Ukraine’s defence forces.

Source: the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade on Telegram

Details: As yet, it is unclear whether the detained Russian, who has been named as Yuri Pitkevich, took part in the executions.

The Russian marine is reported to have fairly lengthy combat experience. In October 2022, while serving a sentence in a Russian prison, he agreed to sign a contract with the Wagner Group. As a member of the Wagner units, he initially took part in the assault on the settlements of Soledar and Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. In June 2023, he took part in the Wagner coup – the "march" on Moscow organised by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In June 2024, Pitkevich signed a new contract and joined the 155th Marine Brigade of the Russian Federation. In August, when the brigade was redeployed to Kursk Oblast, he took direct part in combat actions as an assistant grenade launcher.

At the end of September, he witnessed the killing of two Ukrainian prisoners of war near the village of Glushkovo. According to Pitkevich, the order for their execution and subsequent beheading was given by the unit commander.

Pitkevich has revealed the identity of the commander in question and has also named the soldiers who were directly involved in this war crime.

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