Surrender of Mykolaiv marines to captivity: court examines new evidence in the Bezsmertnyi case

In Dnipro, a trial in absentia is underway in the case of Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi, the former head of the rear materiel service of the 501st Separate Marine Battalion as part of the Mykolaiv-based 36th Separate Marine Brigade. He is accused of state treason and of organising the surrender of subordinates into captivity during the defence of Mariupol in 2022.

At the latest hearing of the Central District Court of Dnipro, written evidence was examined, including correspondence that, according to the prosecution, indicates further cooperation by Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi with representatives of Russia. This was reported in September 2026 by the “Media Initiative for Human Rights”.

The case concerns events from early April 2022, when fighters of the 501st battalion were captured during the defence of Mariupol. According to the investigation, Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi organised the surrender of his unit.

Earlier, the Media Initiative for Human Rights established that servicemembers may have been led out to enemy positions under the pretext of moving to reinforce or an allegedly agreed “green corridor.” At least 14 servicemen who later returned from captivity gave testimony in this case. According to them, the relevant order was given by Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi.

The defendant himself is currently on temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, so the trial is being held in absentia. A panel of judges composed of Oleksandr Smolnyakov, Mykhailo Katolikyan and Oleksandra Kolesnichenko continues to examine the evidence. At the last hearing, the judge read out correspondence of Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi with acquaintances, dated May and July 2023. In one of the messages he, according to the prosecution, offered to help Ukrainian servicemen move to territory controlled by Russia and promised to provide them with safe conditions.

In another conversation examined by an expert, Bezsmertnyi said that he was using Facebook to look for Ukrainian servicemen who found themselves in a difficult situation and were ready to surrender. According to the expert’s conclusion, these messages may indicate inducement of interlocutors to defect to the enemy. The correspondence also mentioned contacts with representatives of the occupation authorities. According to the court, Bezsmertnyi reported that they could help with documents and employment.

The court also separately examined Facebook correspondence in which Bezsmertnyi inquired about a military facility in the Black Sea and offered a reward for obtaining information. The expert concluded that the content of this conversation may indicate an offer to transmit information to Russia harmful to Ukraine.

The court also verified documents confirming Bezsmertnyi’s Ukrainian citizenship. The State Border Guard Service reported that he is a citizen of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no information about his renunciation of citizenship.

Among the evidence in the case are video recordings of Russian propaganda featuring captured servicemen of the 501st battalion. In particular, this includes a segment by Russian propagandist Oleksandr Sladkov, in which Bezsmertnyi spoke about the circumstances of the marines’ capture. The court plans to review these videos at the next hearing, after which it will decide on further examination of the evidence and witness questioning.

For Mykolaiv, this case has a particular context: the 501st Separate Marine Battalion is part of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, which is one of the city’s key military units. Fighters of the Mykolaiv brigade took part in the defence of Mariupol, and many of them were taken into Russian captivity. In particular, during the exchange on 15 May 2026, 89 marines of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade returned home, among them 11 officers.

Earlier reports also covered the return from captivity of fighters from the 501st battalion. In September 2024, among the released marines was one serviceman from the 501st Separate Marine Battalion, while six of the released were fighters of Mykolaiv’s 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

The trial of Kostiantyn Bezsmertnyi is ongoing. His guilt has not been established by a guilty verdict of the court. Previously we wrote:

• After captivity and a fabricated “life sentence”: an officer from Mykolaiv region received the “For Unbreakability” award
• Instead of a “can” — a stick, instead of porridge — raw wheat with water: the story of a Mykolaiv marine in captivity
• “Released” — not just a word: a Mykolaiv marine returned after three years of Russian captivity
• From the hell of captivity, our Hero returned — a defender of Ukraine from the Korabelnyi district
• “He promised to stand until the end”: in Mykolaiv they bid farewell to marine and ataman of the Korabelnyi district Serhii Paraskun