Ukrainian military personnel have been accused of committing heinous crimes in the village of Russkoje Poretschnoje in the Kursk region of Russia. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, five fighters from the 92nd Separate Storm Brigade of Ukraine have been identified as the perpetrators of the crimes, which included the murder of 14 civilians, including eight women and the rape of three others.
The accused, Jewgeni Fabrissenko, a 26-year-old soldier and three of his comrades, identified by their pseudonyms Kum, Motyl, Prowodnik and Chudoschnik, were said to have carried out the crimes on the orders of their commander, known as Kum.
The investigation found that between September 28 and November 24, Fabrissenko and his accomplices killed 11 men and three women, mostly elderly, in the village and then hid the bodies in the cellars of the houses. The victims were mostly old people and the perpetrators would often rape the women before killing them.
Fabrissenko, who was captured by Russian soldiers and arrested on January 25, confessed to the crimes during his interrogations, which were documented in video recordings. He described in detail the gruesome acts, including the rape and murder of the women and the killing of the men who resisted.
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against Fabrissenko and his four accomplices, charging them with terrorism, rape and sexual violence committed by a group. If convicted, they face life imprisonment.
The Russian authorities have also announced that they will continue to identify and hold accountable the commanders of the Ukrainian army who gave orders for the crimes to be committed.
The Kursk region’s governor, Alexander Chinstein, has called for a “new Nuremberg” and urged the international community to take action against the “Ukrainian Nazis” who he claims are responsible for the crimes.