Ukrainian Court to Hear Yahidne Rape Case
Three Russian soldiers will be tried in absentia and behind closed doors.
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Oksana Matsopa
"We show the true picture."
A court is preparing to hear a case of alleged rape committed during the occupation of the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region.
According to the investigation, on March 4, 2022, three Russian soldiers encountered a local woman on a street in Yahidne and threatened her before forcing her into a house. One of the soldiers struck the woman on the head with the butt of a rifle. The Russian soldiers checked her documents and one of them ordered her to strip naked, threatening her with death and torture.
The woman complied and sat naked in the cold, unheated house for about an hour. Following this, one of the occupiers raped her.
The victim was then taken to the basement of the Yahidne school where nearly 400 local residents were being held. Later that day, the accused soldiers returned, took the woman from the basement and one of them raped her again.
According to investigators, the alleged rapist is 34-year-old Chayan Chynan, who was accompanied by 28-year-old Kezhik-ool Shaktar-ool and 25-year-old Ivan Oorzhak. Police issued arrest warrants in absentia for all three in October 2024.
Journalists at Slidstvo.Info uncovered details about the three suspects by analysing local Russian websites and social media accounts linked to the alleged perpetrators.
Chynan, originally from the village of Solchur in the Republic of Tuva, worked as a car mechanic before military service. He later signed a contract with the Russian army’s 55th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade.
From the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Chynan and other soldiers from the 55th Brigade were involved in the occupation of the Chernihiv region. Chynan commanded the 2nd mortar platoon.
Media reports indicate Chynan was killed by Ukrainian forces in the Chernihiv region on March 14, 2022, ten days after the alleged rape in Yahidne. This fact has not yet been recorded in official registries, though it may be addressed during the substantive hearing.
The second suspect, Shaktar-ool from the Republic of Tuva, has served in the Russian army since 2015 and is also part of the 55th Motorised Rifle Brigade. His social media has been inactive since 2016, but he is likely still fighting in Ukraine.
The third suspect, Oorzhak, also from Tuva, serves in the 3rd mortar platoon of the 55th Brigade.
In January 2023, the Chernihiv district court sentenced these three Russian men in absentia to 12 years in prison for violating the laws and customs of war. Investigators proved they threatened to kill a family from Yahidne, locked them in a basement for two days, and brutally beat the homeowner. An appeals court upheld the verdict.
The Chernihiv district court held a preliminary hearing in this case on March 13, 2025.
The victim’s representative has filed a civil lawsuit against the accused, seeking compensation for moral damages, which the court has accepted for review.
The prosecutor requested a trial in absentia as the accused had failed to respond to repeated summons and were believed to currently be in Russia.
The state prosecutor also requested a closed-door hearing. The court granted it, citing the sensitive nature of the case.
Defence attorneys did not object. As a result, the court ordered the trial to be held in a closed session. The first hearing is scheduled for May 19. If convicted under Article 28 part 2 and Article 438 part 1 of the Ukrainian criminal code, the defendants will face eight to 12 years in prison, with the sentence calculated from the time of their arrest.
