Two suspected fighters from the Wagner Group in Belarus have been accused of killing civilians near Kyiv, making them the first international mercenaries to face war crimes charges in Ukraine.
Ukrainian prosecutors released the names and photographs of eight men wanted for alleged war crimes, including murder and torture, in the village of Motyzhyn on Tuesday afternoon. Several are believed to have fought in Syria.
Five are said to be Russian soldiers, one is a Russian Wagner Group mercenary and the last two are Belarusian mercenaries.
A list of photographs released by prosecutors of those accused of killing and torturing civilians in a village north of Kyiv, including Belarusians Sergey Vladimirovich Sazanov (pictured twice in the center right and bottom left) and Alexander Alexandrovich Stupnitsky (below in the center), and his companion Wagner. the mercenary Sergey Sergeevich Sazonov (top right). Photography: Alessio Mamo / The Guardian
The Guardian has previously reported the alleged involvement of prosecutors on Tuesday in the systematic torture and killing of civilians in Ukraine, including the head of the village council and her husband and son.
There have been reports of Wagner fighters on the ground in Ukraine, but these are the first charges against mercenaries allegedly serving, and the first non-Russian defendants.
Established in 2014 to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Wagner is allegedly funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful businessman who is closely linked to Vladimir Putin and has faced Western sanctions.
Russia has used paid fighters to bolster its forces since the start of the war. It is estimated that it deployed between 10,000 and 20,000 mercenaries from Syria, Libya and elsewhere, including Wagner Group fighters, in its offensive in the Donbas region of Ukraine, a European official said last month.
A survivor had previously described to the Guardian how Russian soldiers who were perpetrating a sadistic massacre for days in the village had described Ukraine as a “fairy tale” compared to Syria.
Floral tributes to Olga Petrivna, the village chief, and her son and husband at Motyzhyn Cemetery. Photography: Alessio Mamo
Prosecutors said Sergey Vladimirovich Sazanov, 51, born in the Belarusian city of Rechitsa, was one of about 300 Wagner mercenaries who took part in an offensive in February 2018 in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. They cited the open source research group InformNapalm.
Another man, Alexander Alexandrovich Stupnitsky, 32, a native of Orsha, Belarus, was identified as a liaison officer for the Wagner Group’s 1st reconnaissance and assault company.
The third man identified as a member of Wagner, Sergey Sergeevich Sazonov, 33, was born in Kaliningrad and is allegedly the driver of the Wagner Group’s command vehicle.
Denis Korotkov, an expert on the Wagner group, confirmed that two of the suspects had previously worked for the mercenary company. “Sazonov and Stupnitsky are in my files,” Korotkov told the Guardian. He said it was unusual for Belarusian citizens to fight with the group, as they could face prison sentences for it.
“It is likely that Sazonov and Stupnitsky fought in Syria,” he added. “They don’t have a particular reputation, just regular Wagner soldiers.”
None of the defendants are detained, and prosecutors believe they may have since been transferred to front-line positions in the Donbas, where Putin has positioned most of his armed forces after withdrawing from the area around Kyiv. .
An armored vehicle carrying destroyed Russian personnel found in the forest outside Motyzhyn. Photography: Alessio Mamo
“There is a possibility that these men are still fighting in Ukraine, or that they will be killed during the fighting,” said Oleh Tkalenko, a senior prosecutor in the Kyiv region. “We are still working on it and will do our best to arrest them.”
Tkalenko said the investigation was based on photographic evidence, CCTV footage and reports of hundreds of survivors confirming the identities of his torturers.
Only three men survived the Motyzhyn torture camp.
After killing the civilians, the soldiers buried them in mass graves around the camp. In one, investigators found the body of Olga Petrivna, the head of the Motyzhyn village council, along with her husband and son. Petrivna had chosen to stay in the city and coordinate aid and territorial defense when the Russians arrived.
Tkalenko said Ukrainian authorities had so far identified more than 5,000 Russian soldiers deployed north of Kyiv. “We are keeping records of all prisoners of war and we know who committed war crimes.”
A large billboard by Olga Petrivna with her husband and son marks the entrance to the village of Motyzhyn. The message reads, “Eternal respect for the people of Motyzhyn.” Photography: Alessio Mamo / The Guardian
The list of suspected war criminals includes 15 Russian soldiers most accused of human rights abuses during a month-long brutal occupation of cities in northern Kyiv.
Anna Neistat, of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, said that the Office of the Attorney General of Ukraine had indicated that it wanted to lead the global effort while showing a willingness to accept the help of the international community.
“They are very active. So far, 11,000 cases have been opened, “Neistat said. atrocities committed by Russian troops as a priority and national prosecutors risk their lives to gather evidence of war crimes even in areas still threatened by enemy forces or with mines.
“That said, there is a danger that prosecutors will be overwhelmed because there are a large number of cases,” said Neistat, noting that instead of obstructing parallel investigations, the prosecution had been open to international support and was active in parallel coordination. investigations that are initiated elsewhere.
There has been unprecedented interest in creating cases by foreign prosecutors and NGOs about crimes committed in Ukraine. More than a dozen national prosecutors outside Ukraine have opened war crimes or aggression cases. The international criminal court opened its investigation just four days after the invasion. On Monday, a court in Kyiv sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison for the murder of a Ukrainian civilian, in the first verdict of a war-related trial carried out by the Russian army during his invasion of Ukraine.