A Kharkiv court has sentenced a Russian military serviceman in absentia to 12 years in prison for seizing a local resident's vehicle during the occupation of the Kharkiv region in 2022. The offender's actions were classified as a violation of the laws and customs of war.
This was reported by Book of Torturers, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kharkiv delivered a ruling on August 14, 2026, in a case against a serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The court established his involvement in a war crime against the civilian population during the temporary capture of the region’s territory.
The convicted individual is a native with the call sign “Mongol” who served in the 9th Motorised Rifle Regiment of the 11th Army Corps of the Baltic Fleet. The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence confirmed the presence of this unit in the Chuhuiv district.
Details of the seizure of civilian property
In early June 2022, three armed Russian servicemen arrived at the courtyard of a resident in the village of Novyi Burluk. The occupiers demanded the keys to a Ford Kuga vehicle and threatened the use of weapons.
The owner had removed the battery from the vehicle in advance due to fears of looting. The perpetrators demanded explanations regarding the missing battery and subsequently took the car keys.
Consequences and losses for the owner
The car was later removed from the yard, and following the retreat of the occupying forces, it was spotted within a column of Russian equipment. The total amount of damage caused reached nearly 468,000 hryvnias.
The actions of the defendant were qualified under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The judicial body recognized the lack of military necessity in the seizure of property and issued a verdict in absentia.
Photo: Book of Torturers
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