Juvenile prosecutors of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office have approved and submitted to the court an indictment against a 22-year-old Russian soldier for violating the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — as amended until 24.10.2024).

The investigation established that a family from Kharkiv — a husband and wife and their two children — a 9-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son — decided to evacuate to a safer settlement.

On the afternoon of March 2, 2022, while traveling along a highway near the village of Dementiivka in the Kharkiv district, which at that time was under the control of the occupiers, they became victims of a brutal war crime.
A serviceman of the 237th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Moscow Military District, realizing that he was facing a civilian vehicle, opened fire on the car using a 12.7 mm machine gun.

The driver lost control, and the car veered off the road. When the man tried to restart the vehicle and continue driving, the soldier opened fire again — this time deliberately. The car caught fire.

At the scene, the father and his 9-year-old daughter were killed. The mother and 17-year-old son sustained serious injuries but managed to escape from the burning vehicle and fall to the ground. Despite this, the Russian soldier continued to fire at the car.

The injured lay on the roadside, bleeding. According to the victims, the accused approached them almost at point-blank range and said: “I have an order to shoot at everyone.” 

The lives of the victims were saved — they were noticed by concerned individuals who timely transported the injured to the hospital.

The accused is currently wanted. He will be tried in absentia in the Derhachi District Court of the Kharkiv Region.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in the Kharkiv Region with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv Region.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.