On October 30, the Borodyanskyi District Court of the Kyiv Region acquitted 38-year-old Russian Guard serviceman Yevgeny Murzintsev, who was accused of looting during the occupation of the Kyiv region in the spring of 2022. This was the first case of acquittal of a Russian serviceman for violating the laws and customs of war in the Kyiv region.
This is reported by the publication Graty.
According to the prosecution, Murzintsev arrived in the Kyiv region as part of military unit 6720 — 656 operational regiment of the Russian Guard. A column of Russian equipment entered the village of Blystavytsia on February 27, 2022, after which the occupiers left traces of their presence — broken doors, scattered things, trenches in the yards.
The investigation alleged that Murzintsev broke into the home of resident Natalia Toporenko, stole power tools, computer components, clothing, and gold jewelry, and after retreating through Belarus, sent them by mail to Rubtsovsk in Russia.
The indictment cited the testimony of the victim and neighbours, as well as publications by media and Telegram channels, including the Belarusian project Belaruski Hajun, the Telegram channels Kyiv Operatyvny and Typichny Dneprodzerzhinsk (Kamenskoye), as well as Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s project Dossier.
The court heard the victim Toporenko, who said that she left on February 26, and upon returning on April 12–13, found a house with a broken door and a dug trench. A witness from a neighboring house said that he saw Russian equipment, broken doors in neighbouring houses, and the presence of soldiers in Toporenkoʼs house.
Also during the investigation, a plate from an armored personnel carrier with the unit number 6720 was found, and a box from a postal parcel from Rubtsovsk was found in Myrotske.
The court confirmed that Murzintsev participated in the occupation of the Kyiv region and sent parcels from Mozyr, but found no evidence that he was the one who stole Toporenkoʼs property or that the parcel he sent contained specific belongings of the victim.
Because of this, he was acquitted. A civil lawsuit for compensation for property damage in the amount of almost UAH 15 000 was dismissed, the costs of the examinations will be paid by the state.
On November 6, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office announced its intention to appeal the verdict and seek a 10-year prison sentence, stating that the evidence indicates the commission of a war crime.
In total, 18 Russian servicemen have been suspected of looting in the Kyiv region, and cases against others are pending in court. Blystavytsia resident Olena Davydenko, whose house was also robbed, said that her case is being heard separately and that she filed an application for consideration without participation due to the limited time.
The lawyer for another suspect Denis Filimonov, who served in the same unit, considers Murzintsevʼs acquittal an example of fair justice, emphasizing that sentences must be based on proper evidence, even if the suspect is a serviceman of an aggressor country.
Filimonov, according to the investigation, also allegedly stole property during the occupation of Blystavytsia and sent it by mail to Rubtsovsk. His case is being heard in absentia.
Murzintsevʼs lawyer Sergei Ostapenko refused to comment on the verdict, noting that he expressed his position during the court debates.
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