Russian Sergeant Sentenced to Ten Years for Beating and Robbing Civilians

Soldier threatened, beat and stole valuables from locals over several days in March 2022.

Russian sergeant Azamat Kuzbarmakov has been sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison for cruel treatment of civilians and robbery during the occupation of Bobryk, a village in Kyiv region, in March 2022. © Still from a video by ГТРК "Саратов"

A Russian soldier has been sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison for the cruel treatment of civilians during the occupation of Bobryk, a village in Kyiv region.

Azamat Kuzbarmakov is a sergeant serving in the 15th Separate Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade stationed in Roschynskyi, in Russia’s central-eastern region of Samara. The investigation found that in 2013 Kuzbarmakov was the hero of a propaganda video about military contract service in the Russian forces. In a video aired on Russian TV channels, Kuzbarmakov was reportedly seen describing his tactical training as well as his studies of foreign languages and international law.

Investigators found that between March 8 and March 30 2022, the 30-year-old’s brigade was with the Russian forces as they occupied Bobryk. The village, some 20 kilometres from the capital Kyiv in the Brovar district, had a pre-war population of about 2,000 people.

During the occupation, the Russian military placed weapons and combat equipment in the village, used private property, raided houses and controlled the movement of civilians, including intimidating and threatening them with physical violence.

On March 9, Kuzbarmakov and three unidentified accomplices went into the house of a couple, named Serhiy and Iryna K in the suspicion files. The accused threatened the man, hitting him on the head with the handle of a weapon and kicking him. With two other soldiers, he then picked up the man and brought him to a separate room in the yard that was equipped with a stove and various tools.

There they tied his hands behind his back with a towel, knocked him to the floor and started beating him on the body and head again. The beating ceased when the wife broke into the room, pleading with the Russian military to stop abusing her husband.

Kuzbarmakov walked back to the house with the woman and demanded she hand over valuables and mobile phones; to intimidate her, he shot into the ceiling. Fearing for her life, the victim handed over her Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 phone, with a SIM card; the soldiers then left.

On the same day, the accused and other soldiers went to another house in the village, owned by a civilian named Oleg Sh. Kuzbarmakov forced him to lie on the floor and tied the victim's hands behind his back with the cable of an electric iron.

He demanded the man hand over valuables and a mobile phone and, to intimidate him further, Kuzbarmakov shot first at the ceiling and then at the floor, near the man’s head. He left after taking the man’s mobile phone.

In court, all three victims confirmed the events as described in the suspicion, adding details about the circumstances.

Serhiy and Iryna K told the court that on March 9 they had been at home with their whole family. Russian servicemen were walking into the villagers’ yards, checking documents and mobile phones. They handed over the grandmother’s push-button phone for inspection. After some time, the soldiers returned to their house, angry. They searched the house, pushed Serhiy into the utility room where they hit him, tied him up and told him that he was now their prisoner of war. Kuzbarmakov then held a knife to his throat, beat him and threatened to kill him.

While Iryna went to them, pleading to stop brutalising her husband, the accused ordered her to return to the house, where he forced her to sit on the couch with the grandmother. He threatened both with a large hunting knife, waving it in front of them and stated that he had cut the throats of nine people with that knife and they could be next. He demanded they hand over dollars, gold and other valuables to him.

After he shot at the ceiling, his accomplices came running from the utility room and began rummaging through the house looking for valuables. They also told them that if they found hidden phones, they would shoot them. Fearing for her life and the lives of her relatives, the woman handed over to them phones she had previously hid. The soldiers ordered Iryna to bake a cake for them, which she did, fearing for her life. The Russian military used the victim’s stolen phone to write posts on his behalf in support of the Russian military.

The victims stated that the following day, on March 10, Kuzbarmakov came to their house again, took the car from the garage and drove it around the village until he punctured the wheels and it broke down. He also took all the tools from the garage.

The case file included the testimony of a captured Russian soldier who served in Kuzbarmakov’s unit. He said that he knew the accused and that they were together in Ukraine. Like the victims, he recognised Kuzbarmakov from a photo.

Investigators reported a suspicion in absentia against Kuzbarmakov in October 2022; the case was brought to court in December and in April 2023 the procedure of summoning the accused to the court and permission for a special trial in absentia was followed.

A lawyer from the Regional Centre for Free Legal Aid defended Kuzbarmakov. The accused’s whereabouts are unknown and the defence attorney stated that he was unable to contact him to get his version of events. The lawyer argued for an acquittal, stating that there was no evidence of Kuzbarmakov's involvement in the debated actions.

However, on August 15 the Brovar city and district court of Kyiv region convicted the sergeant of the cruel treatment of civilians in violation of the laws and customs of war under Part 1 of Article 438 of the criminal code of Ukraine.