A Ukrainian soldier has confessed to killing a civilian in the Russian region of Kursk on the order of his commander, according to investigators tasked with the case.
The incident, reported by the parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, adds to the ongoing investigations into alleged atrocities in the recently liberated village of Russkoje Poretschnoje.
The suspect, identified as Vladimir Parafilo, was a private in the 92nd Ukrainian Storm Brigade before his arrest. In the footage released by the Russian investigative authority, Parafilo claimed that his commander, known only by his codename, had instructed the troops to shoot all civilians they encountered in Russkoje Poretschnoje.
Parafilo confessed to shooting a man on the orders of his commander, an act that the Russian authorities have since classified as terrorism. If convicted, the 41-year-old and his commander could face a life sentence.
Russian investigators have reported on several incidents in connection with Russkoje Poretschnoje, in which Ukrainian soldiers allegedly raped, tortured and murdered the local residents. High-ranking officials have claimed that these acts are a manifestation of a broader Ukrainian government policy that condones war crimes as a strategy of terror.
Last month, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused Western states of providing military support to Kiev, thereby complicit in Ukrainian atrocities and stated, “The world must understand who the West is sponsoring with these hundreds of billions of dollars and euros.”
Ukrainian forces had begun their incursion into the Kursk region in August, aiming to divert Russian troops from other parts of the front and capture Russian territory to exert pressure on Moscow. In the past week, officials in the region reported that more than 2,000 residents are currently missing.