Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life over execution of captured Ukrainian troops

The convicted man is 36-year-old Russian national Sergey Tuzhylov, call sign Altai, who served as a rifleman-assault trooper in the 69th Motorized Rifle Division of Russia’s Leningrad Military District. Before being mobilized, Tuzhylov had twice served prison terms in Russia for drug offenses and armed robbery.

According to investigators, Tuzhylov took part in combat near Vovchansk in June 2024. During an assault on a local factory, he and an accomplice executed three captured Ukrainian servicemen. Investigators say Tuzhylov personally shot one of the POWs in the back of the head using his service rifle while the soldier’s hands were tied.

The Russian soldier also selected the execution site for the other two POWs and stood guard during the killings. Before the executions, Ukrainian prisoners were reportedly tied to poles and tortured by Russian troops. The occupiers communicated the results of the torture to their commanders over radio and sought approval for the executions, the SBU said.

Several weeks later, Ukraine’s Defense Forces destroyed Tuzhylov’s unit. He was the only survivor and was taken prisoner.

A Ukrainian court found Tuzhylov guilty of grave crimes, including participation in the abuse and deliberate killing of a Ukrainian POW, and of committing war crimes as part of a group acting in prior conspiracy.

This is the second such sentence in Ukraine’s history. On Nov. 6, 2025, another Russian soldier, 27-year-old Dmitry Kurashov, was sentenced to life in prison for executing a captured Ukrainian serviceman in the Zaporizhzhya sector. Kurashov, who had previously served time in Russia for theft, became the first Russian occupier to receive a life sentence in Ukraine specifically for executing a member of the country’s Defense Forces.