Investigators from the Kyiv region police, together with officers of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department and Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, have identified a Russian serviceman accused of raping a civilian woman during the occupation of the Bucha district in 2022.
The suspect has been formally notified of suspicion in absentia on charges of committing a war crime.
What is known about the perpetrator
The alleged perpetrator is Vladimir Alekseevich Kuznetsov, born April 30, 1989, a native of Kuzovatovo village in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region.
At the time of the alleged crimes, Kuznetsov was a captain and commander of a motorized rifle platoon in the 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit 51460) of Russia’s 35th Combined Arms Army, Eastern Military District.
He was reportedly stationed in Russia’s Khabarovsk Territory.
Between March 10 and March 30, 2022, Kuznetsov was deployed in the occupied village of Andriivka, part of the Makariv community in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region.
Alleged crimes
According to investigators, around March 10, 2022, Kuznetsov and other Russian servicemen entered a private home in Andriivka where a 36-year-old woman lived with her family.
The officer allegedly told the family he was in charge of the street and had orders to kill civilians in the event of disobedience.
Police say that on the nights of March 25–26 and March 28, Kuznetsov raped the woman, forcing her into sexual intercourse against her will.
Charges
Ukrainian authorities have notified Kuznetsov in absentia of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war, including cruel treatment of civilians.
Investigators state that his actions involved threats of murder, the intentional infliction of severe suffering, harm to health, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape.
Prosecutors say these acts violate the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and its Additional Protocol I.
Efforts to bring the suspect to justice are ongoing.
