Russian POW On Trial for Executing Soldier

Tetyana Dotsyak

Kharkiv-based TV correspondent

Tuesday, 9 September, 2025

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A Russian prisoner of war is on trial accused of involvement in the execution of captured Ukrainian soldiers in the Kharkhiv region in the summer of 2024.

In-person trials of Russian servicemen are rare, as most cases are conducted in absentia.

Sergey Tuzhilov, call sign Altai, has confessed to executing a Ukrainian POW and participating in the shooting of two others at an aggregate plant during a renewed Russian offensive on Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, in the summer of 2024.

According to the investigation, 36-year-old Tuzhilov is a native of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. He has two prior convictions for robbery and drug trafficking. A junior sergeant, he is a 16-year veteran who previously fought in Ukraine’s Luhansk region and participated in the second offensive on Vovchansk in 2024.

On September 2, the defendant was escorted into the Kholodnohirskyi District Court in handcuffs, which were then removed.

The victims’ representative participated in the hearing via videoconference.

Prosecutor Mykyta Daloka requested the court close the hearing, arguing that some evidence contains information that could reveal state secrets and affect the security of Ukrainian service members.

The request was granted, meaning the rest of the case will not be open to the public.

In May 2024, Russian forces re-captured part of Vovchansk, a town in northern Kharkiv region located just five kilometres from the Russian border. During the first occupation, Russian troops had established a torture chamber at the city’s aggregate plant, according to testimony from survivors.

Conditions at the plant were extremely poor, Tuzhilov recounted during a crime scene reenactment in July 2025.

“Fellow soldiers were shooting themselves in the head because there was no food or water,” he said, adding that there were “at least three” suicides. Soldiers had also been reduced to eating dogs.

According to investigators, Tuzhilov was the deputy commander of the unit stationed at the aggregate plant. His unit surrendered to operatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. The operation to liberate the plant lasted approximately 20 days and was personally overseen by Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian intelligence chief.

“Ukrainian defenders had established fire control over all access routes to the plant and were shooting down most of the drones, making it impossible to deliver aid by land or air,” Tuzhilov said. “We were running out of food, water and medicine.”

He continued, “There were 118 of us. Seven were taken prisoner – the only ones who survived. During the assault, we were in a room with wounded men, but we had no food or water. We were getting no support. We were out of ammunition, too. I was wounded when they stormed our position.”

Tuzhilov was turned in by his own accomplices. The detainees claimed that Tuzhilov had been stealing their food at the aggregate plant.

“We Didn’t Bury Anyone”

The first Ukrainian victim was Vasyl Mulko, 47. He had only just been deployed to the front in June 2024 when he got lost and stumbled upon the Russian position, Tuzhilov recounted during the reenactment.

“He was unarmed and asked, ‘Lads, who are you?’” Tuzhilov said. “He was very surprised when they told him they were Russians. They interrogated him – ‘took’ information from him - and I know he was fed. Then, the battalion commander ordered the senior officer on the position, whose call sign was Krasavchik, to kill the prisoner of war.”

According to Tuzhilov, a soldier with the call sign Kot was ordered to carry out the killing and he was tasked with supervising it.

“Kot went into the checkpoint building to kill the prisoner of war,” Tuzhilov continued. “I was standing outside and my role was to provide support for Kot in case of any unforeseen situation. If he [Mulko] had escaped, I would have shot. I heard a shot and later, while we were moving our own dead, I saw the body. We didn’t bury anyone – neither our own, nor theirs.”

Two other Ukrainian soldiers were captured in July 2024. Tuzhilov recounted that the Russians had gone into the city to search for food and encountered the Ukrainian defenders.

“They were interrogated, fed and placed behind pillars so the ‘little birds’ [drones] wouldn’t get them if there was an attack.”

The detainees were 33-year-old Yurii Hyryzhuk and 36-year-old Maksym Sidehov, both veterans of the war in the Donbas region who had joined up to fight again following the full-scale invasion.

“The next day, Krasavchik received an order from the battalion commander to execute them. He ordered me and Kot to carry it out,” Tuzhilov stated during the crime scene reenactment. “We went to another building. They didn’t know we were coming to kill them. It was quick – two shots rang out and they were dead.”

He confirmed that he killed one man, and Kot killed the other.

During the investigative re-enactment, Tuzhilov attempted to justify his actions.

“[The Ukrainian POWs] would have died a more painful death: either from lack of food or water. That’s a sadder fate than a bullet to the head. There was no possibility of releasing them or transferring them elsewhere because we had no relief or rotations.”

Amil Omarov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said “Tuzhilov was not merely following orders. As a deputy unit commander, he also ordered his own subordinates to execute our defenders.”

Omarov specified that when Mulko was executed, it was Tuzhilov who ordered the soldier with the call sign Kot to kill the Ukrainian POW.

“The order was carried out under his supervision with a shot to the head. This was the first incident documented during the pre-trial investigation,” said Omarov.

In the second case, Tuzhilov and an accomplice executed two Ukrainian prisoners of war, the prosecutor added.

Following the investigative re-enactment, Tuzhilov pleaded to be part of a prisoner exchange, promising never to return to the front.

“I apologise for what I did. Yes, you can call it war and blame everything on that, but I know I did wrong. I just didn’t see any other way out at the time,” Tuzhilov said.

However, it is not known if he is on any exchange list, and the prosecutor’s office has not commented on his status. His accomplices – the prisoners of war who testified against him – are on the list for exchange, prosecutor Daloka revealed during a court hearing.

“The Prosecutor’s Office will do everything possible to expedite the case and ensure justice is served,” he said. “While the trial is ongoing, we are blocking any exchange.”

If convicted, Tuzhilov faces life imprisonment for aiding and abetting the cruel treatment and premeditated murder of prisoners of war, and for committing a war crime as part of a conspiracy.

However, Daloka argued that mitigating circumstances could reduce his prison sentence, as Tuzhilov confessed cooperated and expressed remorse.

“This is a particularly serious crime,” the prosecutor said. “The pre-trial investigation established more than four aggravating circumstances. Under Ukrainian law, an admission of guilt and sincere remorse are recognised as mitigating factors. It will be up to the court to decide whether or not to consider them."