SBU identifies Russian commanders in Ukrainian soldier’s beheading
Служба безпеки України у середу, 30 квітня, повідомила, що ідентифікувала російських командирів, які віддали наказ обезголовити бійця ЗСУ. Про це повідомили у Telegram відомства.
Ukraine’s SBU Security Service identified two Russian commanders who ordered the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner of war near Staromayorske, Donetsk Oblast, in June 2024, announcing charges against them on April 30, 2025, according to a Telegram statement.
The SBU named Shot Karapetyan, deputy commander of the 1st Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 394th Motorized Rifle Regiment, 127th Motorized Rifle Division, 5th Combined Arms Army (call sign “Yustas”), and Dmitry Chikhabakha, commander of the “Storm” assault company of the same regiment (call sign “Sber”), as responsible for the act.
According to the investigation, on June 17, 2024, during fighting near Staromayorske in Volnovakha district, the commanders ordered subordinates to shoot a captured Ukrainian soldier, behead him, and place his head on the hood of a damaged armored vehicle, the SBU stated.
The commanders instructed their troops to kill Ukrainian prisoners rather than take them alive.
Karapetyan and Chikhabakha face charges in absentia under Article 438, Part 1, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code for violating the laws and customs of war. Comprehensive measures are underway to locate and punish the war criminals.
On June 18, 2024, then-Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin reported that Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast beheaded a Ukrainian soldier, stating that Russian commanders had ordered troops to kill Ukrainian servicemen by decapitation instead of taking them prisoner.
On June 19, authorities confirmed the victim’s identity but withheld details pending ongoing investigations.
Media later reported the war crime occurred on June 17, 2024, near Staromayorske, with a Russian unit leader ordering immediate beheadings of Ukrainian prisoners.
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