Russian Commander Has Life Sentence Upheld on Appeal

Yuriy Larin

Court reporter

Thursday, 30 January, 2025

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A Russian lieutenant colonel has had his life sentence for war crimes upheld by a court of appeal in Karkhiv.

Battalion commander Yevgenii Zelenov was convicted in absentia on April 30, 2024 for ordering soldiers to open fire on civilians. The Kyiv district court of Kharkiv found Zelenov guilty of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder, under Part 2 of Article 438 of the criminal code. The 49-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Zelenov, a citizen of the Russian Federation, served as deputy commander of the 25th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, part of the 6th Combined Arms Army of Russia’s Western Military District (military unit 29760).

According to the investigation, on the night of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Zelenov was tasked with leading one of the battalion tactical groups that crossed the border in the north of the Kharkiv region.

Zelenov commanded a unit of soldiers in armoured vehicles, and directly ordered them to breach the border of Ukraine.

The battalion then advanced to the intersection of Lesia Serdiuka Street and the Kharkiv ring road where the lieutenant colonel ordered his troops to establish a foothold. To this end, his servicemen positioned a tank and three armoured vehicles across the road, blocking traffic as cars carrying civilians attempting to flee the occupied northern communities began to gather.

According to the case file, the people asked the Russians to let them leave to get to Kharkiv. Zelenov gave the order to deny all passage. The Ukrainians began to argue with the Russians, demanding to be allowed to pass through.

The judge noted that Zelenov knew the norms of international humanitarian law and chose to ignore them.

Acting “out of revenge against civilians for failing to comply with the instructions of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and with objective of intimidating civilians and achieving unconditional compliance with the instructions given to them” at about 9am on February 24, 2022, he ordered his subordinates to open fire.  Up to 10 cars with people inside came under fire.

Zelenov's criminal order was disobeyed by two of his subordinates – soldiers identified in the court hearings as Vasiliev and Levankov.

They ran to the cars and tried to help people caught under fire. While rescuing a 51-year-old woman and her 29-year-old adult daughter, the soldiers themselves came under fire from Zelenov’s battalion.

As Levankov and Vasiliev tried to hide the women behind rubbish bins, all four were struck by bullets.

Levankov and the older woman died from multiple wounds, while Vasiliev and the younger woman sustained injuries to their limbs and torsos.

Following Zelenov's orders, at about 10am the Russians shot two more civilians.  A 48-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman, who were in a separate car, were injured.

The wounded Vasiliev was later taken captive by Ukrainian forces.

Verdict “Lawful and Justified”

Zelenov’s appeal was filed by his defence attorney Viktor Yevstihnieiev, a lawyer from the Eastern Regional Centre for Free Legal Aid provided by Ukraine. Yevstihnieiev requested the court overturn the verdict and dismiss the charges for lack of evidence of crime in the actions of the Russian lieutenant colonel.

The January 23 2025 hearing was presided over by Judge Rostyslav Hiertsyk of the Kharkiv Court of Appeal. Yevstihnieiev  and prosecutor Goarika Babanian were present in court.

Zelenov was informed of the hearing and the summons published in the channels mandated by Ukrainian law, including on the court’s website and that of the prosecutor general's office. However, he did not appear in court and is believed to still be engaged in hostilities on Ukrainian soil.

The victims and their attorney did not attend the hearing either, although they had been informed about the final session. As stated by the judge, the victims' representative, attorney Tamila Bespala, was familiar with the case materials.

Yevstihnieiev argued that the court of first instance did not prove that it was Zelenov who ordered troops to fire on Kharkiv residents, rather than subordinates who proceeded without his authorisation.

The defence lawyer drew attention to the fact that the decision of the court of first instance relied heavily on the testimony of Russian soldier Vasiliev, taken captive after being wounded on the ring road.

According to the attorney, Vasiliev personally heard only the order to fire into the air and assumed that Zelenov ordered the soldiers to open fire for effect. At the same time, he did not deny the fact of Russian servicemen having fired for effect, since he himself was wounded.

“He did point out that Zelenov gave the order to open fire, however, not on civilians, but into the air,” Yevstihnieiev said. “When civilians began to ask to be allowed to pass through to the city of Kharkiv, Zelenov refused and gave the order to open fire into the air.

“Then Vasiliev explained that he and his commander ran toward the civilians to try to get them out of the fire, and only then, as he suggests, Zelenov gave the order to open fire on them and civilians. But this is an assumption on Vasiliev’s part, it is not confirmed by any additional evidence.”

Babanian, the prosecutor, in turn opposed the attorney's complaint, arguing that the verdict of the Kyiv District Court of Kharkiv was lawful and justified.

She noted that Zelenov's guilt was fully confirmed by Vasiliev’s testimony.

“[Vasiliev] testified during the court session that it was Zelenov who gave the order to fire on the civilian population,” the prosecutor continued, adding that the circumstances of the shooting of civilians were also confirmed by witnesses questioned first during the pre-trial investigation and later directly in court.  

Presiding Judge Hiertsyk asked the prosecutor whether Zelenov’s defence lawyer had been active during the trial and whether the attorney had adequately represented the defendant. Babanian affirmed that the defence had indeed been active.

During the legal debate, Yevstihnieiev once again asked the court to uphold the appeal, overturn the Kyiv District Court of Kharkiv verdict and dismiss the charges against the Russian lieutenant colonel.

Babanian, in turn, urged the court to reject the defence attorney’s appeal and leave the verdict of the court of first instance unchanged.

After the legal debate, the court withdrew to deliberate.

Upon reaching the decision, Judge Hiertsyk announced the introductory and operative parts of the verdict.

“The appeal submitted by defence attorney Yevstihnieiev is dismissed, and the verdict of the Kyiv district court of Kharkiv dated April, 30 2024 against Yevhenii Zelenov is upheld,” he declared.

The judge added that the decision took immediate effect, although it may be appealed within three months from the date of its proclamation.

War crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations and the sentence will be enforced upon Zelenov's detention.