On March 31, 2026, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) notified a russian serviceman of suspicion under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In 2022, he commanded a unit that occupied the village of Novopetrivka in Bashtanka district, Mykolaiv region. He is accused of torturing a local resident.
What is known about the suspect
Ivan Prіsyazhnyuk (born October 19, 1994) is a native of Alkino-2 village in Chishminsky district, Republic of Bashkortostan, russia. He resides in Rostov-on-Don.
At the time of the crime, he was serving in the 108th Guards Air Assault Regiment of the 7th Guards Airborne Division of the Russian Armed Forces (military unit 42091, Novorossiysk) as a sniper platoon commander. His rank was Guards Captain.
He used the call sign "Prometheus" for concealment.
Circumstances of the crime
From March 18 to November 10, 2022, russian troops, including the 108th Regiment where the suspect served, illegally occupied the village of Novopetrivka.
On the afternoon of March 21, 2022, a group of russian soldiers stopped a local resident on Tsentralna Street. After checking his phone and messages, they falsely accused him of passing information to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The victim was struck on the head and forcibly taken to a forest belt on the outskirts of the village.
There, his hands and feet were bound, and he was severely beaten with fists, kicks, and rifle butts.
The victim was also subjected to psychological torture: he was forced to hold a grenade without the safety pin, threatened with having his ear and head cut off with a knife, and faced death threats.
He was later taken to another forest belt — to the unit’s "headquarters", where Prysyazhnyuk was present. The victim’s phone had already been seized, and subordinates reported to him in line with the chain of command.
Prysyazhnyuk ordered the victim to kneel and personally struck him twice in the face with his fist, accompanied by insults, humiliation, and death threats.
He then threatened to sexually assault the victim using barbed wire and a metal pipe and began removing his trousers.
The victim was later released.
Suspicion
Prysyazhnyuk’s actions are classified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as cruel treatment of civilians, which constitutes a war crime. These actions constitute a grave breach of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and its Additional Protocol.
The criminal proceedings were registered in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations on January 7, 2026, under No. 22026150000000008.