On April 29, 2026, the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kherson Oblast served a notice of suspicion on a russian serviceman accused of shooting and killing three civilians in Kherson in 2022.

Who is the suspect

Ilya Alekseevich Zuev (born August 22, 1994) is a native of the village of Zavoronezhskoye, Michurinsky District, Tambov Region, russian federation.

At the time of the crime, he was deputy commander for military-political affairs of the 1st Special Forces group of the 2nd Special Forces detachment of the 606th Special Forces Center of the North Caucasus District of the russian National Guard. He holds the rank of senior lieutenant.

Circumstances of the crime

On March 1, 2022, at approximately 20:00, Zuev, together with unidentified servicemen from the 2nd assault group under his command at the time, opened fire with an assault rifle on a Nissan Primera carrying civilians that was driving toward them. The incident occurred near the intersection of Perekopska and Zalaegerszeg streets, an area close to the combat zone that was not under the control of russian occupation forces at the time.

The car was occupied by a civilian man born in 1984, a woman born in 1999, and a minor girl born in 2004.

As a result of the shooting, the driver and the woman in the front seat died at the scene.

A 17-year-old girl in the back seat sustained a gunshot wound. After the car stopped, she managed to get out and attempted to flee, walking several hundred meters away from the intersection before collapsing and dying from her injuries.

The russian servicemen left the scene after confirming the deaths of all three victims.

Notice of suspicion

Zuev has been notified of suspicion of committing a war crime combined with premeditated murder under Part 1 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The attack on civilians not directly participating in hostilities violated the provisions of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.

The criminal proceedings were registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 12022230000000191 on March 4, 2022.