On May 25, 2026, the Main Investigation Department of the National Police issued a notice of suspicion under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to a Moscow judge who handed down an illegal sentence to a Ukrainian prisoner of war.

Who is the suspect

Bakin Vitaly Vladimirovich (born March 12, 1981) is a native of Kaunas (Republic of Lithuania) and a citizen of the russian federation.

He has worked as a judge in Moscow since 2009. At the time of the crime, he served as a judge of the 2nd Western District Military Court of the russian federation.

Circumstances of the crime

In March 2025, the 2nd Western District Military Court received an indictment against a Ukrainian prisoner of war — a grenade launcher operator who had participated in an offensive operation in russia’s Kursk region.

In accordance with the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which russia is obliged to observe as the successor state to the USSR, the serviceman automatically acquired prisoner-of-war status and should have been protected under international humanitarian law.

Instead, an investigator of the Main Military Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the russian federation initiated criminal proceedings against the Ukrainian serviceman on terrorism charges.

On June 17, 2025, Bakin delivered the verdict, finding the prisoner of war guilty and sentencing him to 15 years in prison.

On January 30, 2026, the Military Appellate Court of the Russian Federation upheld the ruling.

Suspicion

Bakin’s actions have been classified under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as a violation of the laws and customs of war.

Investigators believe the judge violated international humanitarian law, as the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War prohibits convicting prisoners of war for actions that are not crimes under international law.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court also defines the intentional deprivation of a prisoner of war’s right to a fair trial as a war crime.

The criminal proceedings were entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 12025000000002045 dated July 16, 2025.