The court in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, acquitted a Russian soldier who was accused of stealing from a private home during the occupation of Kyiv region in March 2022. This is the first acquittal handed down to an occupier by a Ukrainian court, causing significant outrage. This was reported by 'Gromadske' based on materials from tsn.ua.
Acquittal: absence of evidence
Judge Hennadiy Stasenko, who made the decision, agreed to explain the reasons for this verdict:
‘For me, this is the first time... I do not want to justify myself, but to explain the specifics of this category of cases’.
The judge emphasized that the court did not question the fact of the robbery of civilian housing and the involvement of this unit of the Russian National Guard. However, there were 'uncovered evidence' for a guilty verdict:
‘The circumstance that this particular person carried out the invasion of this residence or at least was near the residence, at least on this street, has not been established and was not presented to the court’, the judge explained.
The quality of the investigation is more important than emotions
The judge noted that earlier, the Borodyanka court handed down guilty verdicts concerning four Russian war criminals, and in total, there have been 211 such verdicts in Ukraine.
Human rights activist Anna Rassamakina urges not to act under the influence of emotions:
‘One should not act under the influence of emotions; it is necessary to understand that this verdict in no way cancels the scale of crimes committed by the Russians, nor does it justify them. This is about the quality of the research conducted and about the fact that judges must establish guilt only if it is fully proven’.
In the Office of the Prosecutor General, they are aware of the heavy workload but emphasize that Ukraine cannot leave crimes unpunished:
‘We do not wish for any crime to go unpunished. We do not want other countries to become shelters for Russian war criminals’.
Proceedings for war crimes
Currently, more than 194,000 war crimes by the Russian Federation have been registered. Investigations are underway in cases where there is the greatest opportunity to gather evidence. Most investigations are remote, but the Office of the Prosecutor General is convinced that they are acting in accordance with international law. They even tried to notify the accused through social networks to inform them of the suspicions.
‘Some were read. In some cases, our assistants contacted us and said that they would definitely pass on such information. In some messages about the suspicion, they indicated where we could send this suspicion. But we understood it, as lawyers, that this meant that the person had been familiarized with its content’, a representative of the Office of the Prosecutor General recounted.
Legal aspect
Lawyers remind that war crimes are not subject to statute of limitations: ‘Justice knows how to wait’.
Previously, it was reported that Russian serviceman Yevgeny Murzintsev escaped punishment for robbing the homes of Ukrainians during the occupation of Kyiv region.
It is worth noting that Ukraine extradited a Russian soldier to Lithuania for torture and war crimes.
Additionally, military investigators of the Investigative Committee of Russia detained private Alexey Kostrykin, who is accused of murdering the homeowner and raping his wife, and a criminal case has been initiated.
After the occupation of Kyiv region in March 2022, the court in Borodyanka acquitted a Russian soldier in the case of robbing a private residence. The judge justified the decision by the lack of sufficient evidence. Human rights defenders and Ukrainian authorities emphasize the importance of quality investigations and the unacceptability of leaving crimes unpunished.