Four Russian servicemen escaped captivity and seized a civilian: two Russians charged with crimes

Two Russian servicemen have been notified of suspicion of cruel treatment of a civilian resident of Kharkiv region. The case concerns events in the summer of 2026. The circumstances were disclosed by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, which is overseeing the proceedings.

According to investigators, four Russian military personnel escaped captivity in Izium district. The armed escapees broke into the yard of a private house in the village of Pidvysoke. Threatening the homeowner with their weapons, they forced him to get behind the wheel of his own car and drive them toward the line of contact. The servicemen wanted to return to their units as quickly as possible.

Throughout the journey, the man was held at gunpoint, with an assault rifle and a pistol trained on him. When they ran low on fuel, he turned toward the village of Slabunivka. At the exit from the settlement, the Russian servicemen abandoned the car. Before leaving, they threatened to kill the driver and his entire family if he told anyone what had happened.

The subsequent fate of the group members, whom investigators identify by their call signs, was as follows:

• “Puma” — killed during an attempt to detain him.
• “Ibrahim” — also killed during an attempt to detain him.
• “Magadan” — managed to escape; his whereabouts are being established. He was notified of suspicion in absentia.
• “Lesnik” — captured. He is currently being held in a pretrial detention facility as a prisoner of war and has been notified of suspicion.

The suspects’ actions were classified under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: cruel treatment of the civilian population, committed by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy.

The pre-trial investigation and operational support are being carried out by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine Directorate in Kharkiv region.

We previously reported:

• Captivity saved her from hell: Russian occupier raped a woman in a basement for two months
• “They thought they’d get away with it”: occupiers forcibly deported more than 50 Ukrainians from a village in Sumy region to Russia
• A year in sexual slavery: Russian occupier raped and held a Ukrainian woman in Belgorod
• Stealing the future: how Russia abducts Ukrainian children
• Civilians tortured in Mykolaiv region: two occupiers notified of suspicion