Court Begins Examining Evidence in Case of Russian POW

Wednesday, 31 July, 2024

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Iryna Domashchenko

Kyiv-based IWPR's court reporter

A Russian paratrooper is on trial for brutalising civilians during the occupation of Irpin and Bucha in the Kyiv region in March 2022.

Andrey Medvedev’s case has been ongoing in the Irpin city court for over a year, and the 34-year-old is being held in the Kyiv pretrial detention centre.

Medvedev, originally from the Tver region of the Russian Federation, entered the court on crutches due to an injury sustained when he was taken prisoner by the Ukrainian armed forces. 

A corporal and senior scout in the Pskov 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division, Medvedev’s division was among the Russian units occupying the Kyiv region in the spring of 2022. After the Russian’s retreat from the north, the paratrooper travelled to the southern Kherson region, where in September 2022 he was wounded in the left leg and taken prisoner by the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Russian told journalists last year that "I was wounded, I ran away from your [Ukrainian] soldiers for five days”.

Medvedev is accused of brutalising civilians in Irpin and Bucha in March 2022, the towns near Kyiv that became a symbol of Russian atrocities and war crimes.

The investigation points to Medvedev's involvement in several episodes. On March 3, 2022, he allegedly entered the Irpin military hospital and detained two civilian men. He threatened them with a weapon, forced them to kneel and staged a mock execution before interrogating them.  

In the second half of March, according to the indictment, Medvedev, together with commander Alexander Viselkov and a group of other Russians, broke into a house in Irpin where the accused beat civilian Oleksandr Petrenko and staged a mock execution.

The investigation also said that on March 4, 2022, Medvedev and his accomplices received an order from their commanders to detain civilians in Bucha and interrogate them about the Ukrainian armed forces.

On the same day, the group detained six civilian men in Bucha, two of whom had disabilities. The men's hands were tied and they were taken, blindfolded, to a trucking company in Bucha where they were beaten and interrogated.  

They were then escorted to the Radiant children's camp, where the Russian paratroopers were based. There they were interrogated again, beaten and thrown into a cold basement. The next morning, five of the victims escaped. One disabled man remained in the basement because he could not walk unassisted and locals later helped him to leave.

Medvedev's case was brought to court in April 2023. Six months later, in November 2023, a second indictment was announced and the episodes were combined into one case. The representative of one victim also filed a civil lawsuit for compensation of one million hryvnias (24,000 US dollars).  

Medvedev, according to the investigation, took part in the detentions, interrogations and beatings, although in April 2023 he said that "I only took part in one episode”.

In July 2024, the court finally began to examine the prosecution evidence.  

"I Was Stunned”

Amongst the first items in the case files on July 10 was a video of investigative experiments from the crime scene in Irpin.  

The video included an interview with the 29-year-old victim Petrenko, who told investigators how Medvedev had interrogated him.

"He discovered that I had a thermal uniform of the armed forces of Ukraine, and put a gun to my head and said, ‘What, are you serving in the armed forces of Ukraine?" I say ‘No.’ I closed my eyes, I was stunned - he shot past [me],” Petrenko said.  

A week later, on July 17, the court saw the video of a witness, a friend of Petrenko, 40-year-old Vadym.

In mid-March 2022, five Russian soldiers broke into the house in Irpin where Petrenko and Vadim were staying. They ransacked the house, told the men to undress and began searching them for any tattoos which indicated their political allegiances.  

A Russian soldier, later identified as Medvedev, saw Petrenko's thermal coat, which was given to him by a neighbour. He hit him and shot twice near his head. The first bullet fired was later extracted from the window frame and submitted in investigation, while the second bullet was not found.

"He scared him so that he would tell where he got the thermal blanket from. He thought we were military," Vadym told the investigators.

Another Russian soldier, later identified as Viselkov, put a machine gun to Petrenko's back and took him out into the yard where the interrogation continued. There, Medvedev kicked Petrenko to the ground and Viselkov fired a couple of automatic rounds near him.  

“Before giving you the photos, tell me if you can identify the person who used physical force against Oleksandr Petrenko and fired shots in mid-March 2022?” the investigator could be seen asking the witness on the video, warning him of the criminal liability for false testimony.

“Yes,” the witness responded.

“By what signs will you be able to recognise this person?” the investigator continued.

“He was red, red stubble, crooked nose, he had an elongated face... What else? And the ears are like that... How to say it,” Vadym said.

“Big, small?” the investigator asked.

“Big ears and they are pointed,” the witness said, going on to identify Medvedev in one of the photos presented to him.

He said that he would never forget the experience.

“When he undressed me and said, ‘come back,’ I turned half sideways and he said, ‘come back completely.’ I thought he was going to shoot me now. I remembered him forever,” Vadym told the investigator.

In another video, the witness recognised the gun that was used to threaten him and pointed at Petrenko.

After each video was played, presiding judge Natalya Karabaza asked the defendant, “Medvedev, is everything clear or do we need an interpreter?”

“No, I understood everything,” he answered in Russian. Although an interpreter was present at each hearing, Medvedev rarely asked for these services.

On July 17, despite the objections of the Russian and his lawyer, the court granted the prosecutor's request and extended Medvedev's detention until September 14. A hearing will be scheduled in the coming months. After examining the investigative evidence, the court must hear from the victims and witnesses. The accused will testify last.

If found guilty, Medvedev faces between eight to 12 years in prison.  

Medvedev's 32-year-old commander Viselkov, from the Altai region of the Russian Federation, is currently being tried separately in absentia in the Irpin court. His case is at a preparatory stage.