On December 30, the Security Service of Ukraine formally served a notice of suspicion to a serviceman of the Russian Armed Forces, Kakhaberi Karbaya, for torture and cruel treatment of Ukrainian civilians during the occupation of the village of Novopetrivka in the Bashtanka district of Mykolaiv region in 2022.

What is known about the suspect

At the time of the crimes, Sergeant Kakhaberi Georgievich Karbaya (born April 10, 1975) was serving as a driver in the 108th Air Assault Regiment of the 7th Air Assault Division (military unit No. 42091, stationed in Novorossiysk). According to the case file, he used the call sign “Kakha” and was registered as a resident of Sochi, Krasnodar Territory.

Other Russian servicemen are also implicated in the crimes, including Dzhabrail Yusupov (“Gabriel”), Arsen Mamedov (“Akhab”), and Denis Glybin (“Sever”), as well as several unidentified individuals known by the call signs “Diamond” and “Gosha”. Some of them served in the 205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces.

Earlier, on November 11, Karbaya was also suspected of the forcible transfer and deportation of 15 Ukrainian children with disabilities during the summer of 2022.

Criminal activity

Following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, Russian forces advanced from the temporarily occupied Crimea toward the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. From March 18 to November 10, 2022, Russian military units — including the unit in which Karbaya served — illegally occupied the village of Novopetrivka.

During this period, Russian troops exercised full control over the settlement. They deployed military equipment, moved freely through the village, entered private homes, intimidated residents, threatened them with violence, and forcibly detained civilians. Investigators state that these actions were aimed at extracting information for the benefit of the occupying forces.

The investigation has documented at least four separate cases of abduction and torture in which Sergeant Karbaya was directly involved.

• First victim

On the morning of April 23, 2022, Karbaya, together with Yusupov, Mamedov, and other Russian servicemen, broke into a house in Novopetrivka where a civilian resident was staying.

The man, who had no connection to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was protected under international humanitarian law, was severely beaten. The soldiers placed a bag over his head, struck him repeatedly with rifle butts, and threatened to kill him. He was then forced into the trunk of a car, taken outside the village, and held in a pit until 2:00 p.m.

• Second victim

In May 2022, the same group abducted another civilian. He was forced into a car trunk, transported to a farm, and brutally beaten, including with a rifle butt.

Afterward, the victim was locked overnight inside a freight railcar, where he was held in cold, unsanitary conditions without food, water, or access to fresh air.

• Third victim

In July 2022, Karbaya and another Russian serviceman abducted a man who was stopped on the street.

The victim was illegally detained for three hours, beaten with fists, knees, and rifle butts, had a knife pressed to his throat, and was threatened with beheading. These actions were accompanied by explicit death threats.

• Fourth victim

On November 1, 2022, Karbaya and his accomplices abducted Vitaliy Pluzhnyk, a civilian resident of Novopetrivka. He was taken to an unknown location, unlawfully detained, and later that evening abandoned on the roadside with visible signs of severe beating.

Approximately an hour later, the perpetrators returned, forced him back into a car trunk, and transported him to another location, where he was held for an additional period.

On November 9, 2022, Pluzhnyk’s body was found on the outskirts of the village. Forensic examinations revealed multiple injuries, including a brain contusion, fractures of the skull, and a through-and-through gunshot wound to the head.

Legal qualification

Kakhaberi Karbaya is suspected of cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war under international treaties ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The actions are legally qualified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Investigators emphasize that the acts committed by Karbay and his accomplices constitute war crimes under international law and entail criminal liability under both Ukrainian and international legal frameworks.