Russian soldiers under investigation for alleged looting and brutal murder in Kursk region
Russian authorities are investigating criminal charges against a group of military personnel suspected of forming a gang to commit acts of looting in a combat zone, specifically in Russia's Kursk region, reports the newspaper Kommersant, citing sources.
According to the investigation, the soldiers are suspected not only of theft in battle zones but also of a murder committed with particular cruelty. One of the attorneys involved in the case explained to reporters that the investigation involves a unit of assault troops directly engaged in the combat actions associated with repelling a Ukrainian military incursion in the Kursk region. The source indicated that the soldiers are accused of killing a fellow soldier with whom they had a conflict.
One key figure in the investigation is a serviceman named Mikhail Osipov. Court documents from the Kursk Garrison Military Court, which has jurisdiction over the case, reveal that Osipov is accused alongside others of banditry, murder with particular cruelty carried out by a group, and looting. A total of five individuals are facing charges in this criminal case, according to a source cited by "Kommersant."
Among them is a serviceman identified as Alexander Lisunov. As the newspaper reports, the Kursk Military Court has detained him on charges of aiding and abetting murder. He was subsequently convicted through a special procedure after admitting his guilt for concealing the crime.
Kommersant details one of the incidents cited: "The soldiers, aiming to cause suffering to their victim, fired no less than seven rounds from an AK-74 into his legs before delivering a fatal shot to the head, as per the case file. To cover up the crime, they lowered the body into the basement of a destroyed house, doused it with flammable liquid, and set it on fire." Lisunov's conviction was connected to his participation in concealing evidence, the article specifies.
The accused claim that they were trying to deal with a soldier who intended to evade participation in active duty, "and then disappear from the front line altogether." They deny allegations of robbery and looting, stating instead that they took only minor items from abandoned buildings that could be useful in setting up living conditions for soldiers, according to the article.