On April 30, 2024, the Kyiv District Court of Kharkiv sentenced a Russian lieutenant colonel to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of civilians on the first day of the full-scale invasion.
What is known about the accused
Zelenov Yevhenii Oleksandrovych (born 09.03.1975) is a native of the city of Likino-Dulyovo, Moscow region. As of February 2022, he held the position of deputy commander for military-political affairs of the 25th separate motor rifle brigade of the 6th combined arms army of the Western military district of the armed forces of russia (military unit No. 02511). He held the rank of lieutenant colonel.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, Zelenov has significant combat experience: he served in Chechnya (1994), Abkhazia (2000), participated in the war against Georgia (2008), and in the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014.
On the eve of the full-scale invasion, namely on February 22–23, 2022, he was appointed commander of one of the Russian battalion tactical groups (BTG).
Circumstances of the crime
At about 09:00 a.m. on February 24, 2022, Zelenov, commanding a group of 15 servicemen of the armed forces of russia, three armored vehicles, and one tank, arrived at the intersection of Lesia Serdiuka Street and the Kharkiv Ring Road and ordered his subordinates to block the road with military equipment.
Civilians attempting to leave the city were told to turn back, which caused discontent among people who asked to be allowed to leave for a safe place. In response, Zelenov ordered to open fire to kill using small arms.
In one of the cars, a mother and her adult daughter were traveling. When their car came under fire, the women ran out and tried to take cover behind garbage containers and concrete blocks. Two Russian servicemen, unwilling to carry out the criminal order, tried to help the civilians hide. Seeing this, Zelenov ordered to open fire on them as well. As a result of aimed fire, one of the women was killed (from a head wound), as well as one of the Russian soldiers who tried to protect her. Another Russian serviceman sustained leg injuries.
Later that morning, at around 10:00, on Zelenov’s order, several more vehicles — at least 10 — were shelled.
In a Volkswagen Golf, a Ukrainian citizen sustained a severe penetrating chest and lung injury. A passenger of another car received a gunshot wound to the soft tissues of the lower leg. Another woman traveling in a minibus suffered a shrapnel wound to her leg as a result of a shot fired from a Russian tank.
Verdict
The court confirmed the circumstances of the crime through testimonies of surviving victims, witnesses (including a wounded Russian serviceman who was captured), and expert examinations. One of the pieces of evidence was video footage recorded by the daughter of the deceased woman during the shelling while she was hiding.
The Kyiv District Court of Kharkiv found him guilty under Part 2 Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war combined with intentional killing) and sentenced him to life imprisonment. On January 23, 2025, the Kharkiv Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.
As the accused was hiding from justice, the case was considered under a special court procedure (in absentia), in his absence. The term of serving the sentence will be calculated from the moment of his actual detention.
