Russian Soldiers Convicted of Executing Brothers
One brother survived and was able to identify those responsible for killing his two siblings.
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Two Russian servicemen have been sentenced to life in prison in absentia for the March 2022 detention, torture and execution of brothers from a village in the Chernihiv region.
The Chernihiv District Court heard how Konstantin Smirnov and Denis Podgorny illegally detained and tortured the three siblings, from the village of Dovzhyk. The Russian soldiers then went on to execute two of the brothers, Yevhen and Dmytro; the third Mykola, survived and was able to assist law enforcement officers identify the suspects.
The trial of the Russian servicemen began in July 2024 and the verdict was announced by a three-judge panel on February 3, 2025.
The court heard how, in February 2022, Russian forces occupied the village of Dovzhyk, located just a few dozen kilometres from the Belarusian border. On March 18, Russian soldiers arrived at the house where the three Kulichenko brothers lived, apparently searching for Ukrainian partisans who had set fire to a column of military vehicles near Dovzhyk. “Around 5 pm, they came into our yard,” the surviving brother, 35-year-old Mykola told the court. “They said it was for a ‘document check’. At first, there was just one serviceman, named Denis. But then they surrounded our house - there were about eight of them, all wearing balaclavas. They were armed with grenades, pistols and submachine guns.”Inside the Kulichenkos’ house, the Russians spotted a military backpack belonging to Yevhen, who was a former combatant in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"They took out the backpack, immediately readying their submachine guns,” Mykola continued. “’Whose bag is that?” they demanded. Zhenia [Yevhen] quickly responded that it was his and that he was a former paratrooper. Following this, they forced me and Dmytro to our knees near the gate, taking Zhenia aside for questioning. Among his belongings, they found a Flaubert pistol [a sports gun]. They threatened him. Then they found medals among our things. They were actually my grandfather's awards, but they thought they belonged to Zhenia... Then Dima [Dmytro] and Zhenya were handcuffed, my hands were tied with rope, and they took us all away,” recounted Mykola.
The brothers were brought to a sawmill in the neighbouring village of Vyshneve. There, they were separated before being interrogated and tortured for four days.
Under torture, Mykola confessed to involvement in the attack on the Russian vehicle column, although he later said at trial that he had nothing to do with it.
After the interrogations, a Russian serviceman known by the call sign Law arrived at the sawmill where the three brothers were being held. Ukrainian investigations identified him as colonel Konstantin Smirnov, commander of the Russian military group and head of the military police in the district. According to the prosecutor's office, it was Smirnov who ordered one of his subordinates, Denis Podgorny, to execute the three brothers.
Mykola Kulichenko stated that Smirnov ordered the brothers to be taken away. The order was carried out by the same Denis who had previously participated in the brothers' unlawful detention at their home.
The Russians transported the men in the boot of a car to a wooded area. They forced them to kneel in front of an already-dug hole and shot them.
"I turned my head, so the bullet went through my cheek and ear,” Mykola said. “I fell, and he [the Russian] kicked me into the pit. I drew my knees up to my chest. My hands were tied in front of me and that saved me. And Dima fell on me. They started to bury us and then fired two more shots. I began to choke. Then I gathered my strength and pushed Dmytro's body off me. I still heard the last wheezes of my brothers, unable to tell them apart… And then, when the silence came, I didn't know where to go.”
Mykola eventually managed to get out of the pit he had been buried in. When he learned that Russian servicemen were occupying his home, he went to his father’s house.
Anatolii Kulichenko, who is also listed as a victim in the case, told the court that his wounded son came to him on the evening of March 21 and said that the Russians had executed his brothers.
With a neighbour's help, the father provided first aid to Mykola. He said that his greatest fear was that the Russians would come to his home and find his surviving son.
Three of Kulichenko’s neighbours were questioned in court. Among them was Tetiana Prystupa, who helped treat the injured Mykola.
“It was my first time seeing a bullet wound,” she told a January 31 hearing. “It was terrifying for me. At first, I didn't understand what it was. I'm an accountant, but I saw the wound, treated it, washed and cleaned it. Then I called my friend, a paramedic in Slavutych [a city in the Kyiv region]. She explained that black edges around the wound indicate a bullet wound, a burn. I had to remove this burn, otherwise the wound wouldn't heal.”
In addition to the bullet wound, Prystupa noticed bruises on Mykola’s back. He found it difficult to breathe. After the village was liberated, doctors examined him and discovered that he had two broken ribs.
Prosecutor Yaroslav Pomaz called for the maximum sentence, life imprisonment, for both defendants.
The Russian servicemen were represented in court by Liudmyla Pyroh and Olha Kruchek, attorneys from the Centre for Free Legal Aid.
Lidmyla Pyroh, who represented defendant Smirnov, participated in the proceedings via video link. During the debates, she said that she deferred to the court's judgment and the legitimacy of the evidence collected.
“As for the verdict, I stand in agreement with the court's decision.”
Kruchek, the attorney representing Podgorny, requested a just and lawful ruling on the war crimes charges against her client – cruel treatment of prisoners of war or civilians resulting in people’s death.
“During the trial, the defence did not find any grounds for asking the court to acquit the defendant,” she told the court. “The facts of committing a criminal offense are not disputed.”
Smirnov and Podgorny have 30 days to appeal the verdict, starting from the date of its announcement on February 3.
