On May 27, 2026, the Chernihiv District Court of Chernihiv Oblast sentenced a russian general in absentia to life imprisonment for leading an offensive from belarus and russia toward Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv oblasts during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.

Who was convicted

Alexander Pavlovich Lapin (born January 1, 1964) is a native of Kazan, Tatarstan, and holds the rank of colonel general in the russian armed forces.

By decree of Vladimir Putin on November 22, 2017, he was appointed commander of the Central Military District of the russian armed forces.

At the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he exercised overall command of the Center Group of Forces, also known as the "O" Group after the tactical marking used on its military equipment.

Circumstances of the crime

According to the court, on February 24, 2022, Lapin, acting in coordination with senior military and political leaders of the russian federation, including the defense minister, chief of the general staff and other officials, ordered subordinate units to launch a large-scale invasion of Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv oblasts.

The offensive was carried out from belarus's Gomel Oblast and from the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions of russia.

Between February 24 and March 31, 2022, forces under Lapin's command occupied hundreds of settlements and carried out artillery, missile and air strikes on civilian sites protected under international humanitarian law.

The court found that Lapin personally supervised the implementation of his orders and directly commanded troops on Ukrainian territory.

According to the case materials, the actions of Lapin and the forces under his command resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure:

• Chernihiv Oblast — 467 people killed, including 22 children; 580 injured, including 50 children; 21,071 civilian objects damaged or destroyed.
• Sumy Oblast — 133 people killed, including eight children; 117 injured, including eight children; 2,293 civilian objects damaged or destroyed.
• Kyiv Oblast (Brovary district) — 185 people killed, including two children; 77 injured, including seven children; 3,397 civilian objects damaged or destroyed.

Sentence

The court found Lapin guilty of waging an aggressive war by a group acting in prior conspiracy (Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and of committing deliberate actions aimed at changing Ukraine's state border that resulted in grave consequences (Part 3 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Lapin was sentenced to life imprisonment based on the aggregate of the crimes for which he was convicted.

Because the defendant is hiding in the territory of the russian federation and the proceedings were conducted in absentia, the court upheld his detention as a preventive measure until the verdict enters into force. The sentence will begin to run from the moment of his actual detention.

Lapin will face separate proceedings on war-crimes charges, including in connection with the destruction of the Epicenter shopping center in Kharkiv, where 19 Ukrainian civilians were killed.