Russian soldier gets life sentence for blowing up family in Kherson region

In Kherson, a commander of a Russian marine unit from Crimea, who has Ukrainian citizenship, was sentenced to life in prison. The court found him involved in the murder of civilians in the village of Pravdyne during the occupation of Kherson region in 2022.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

According to the investigation, the Crimean resident sided with Russia after the occupation of the peninsula and joined the Russian armed forces. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he was a member of the Black Sea Fleet Marines in the occupied part of Kherson region, where he led a unit and was engaged in so-called "filtration" activities.

According to the MIPL, the man in question is Dmytro Nesterov, a native of Feodosia and a citizen of Ukraine.

The investigation found that in April 2022, Russian military under his command detained several security guards in the village of Pravdyne. They were all held in the same house with other civilians, including a minor girl. Later, some of the detainees were shot, and the rest were killed by blowing up the building from the inside.

Witnesses said that Nesterov was in charge of a group of soldiers based in the seized building and controlled the movement of local residents. Eyewitnesses saw him in the village, in particular near military equipment, and confirmed his command status. After the explosion, people found the bodies of the victims with their hands tied and blindfolded at the scene of the tragedy.

An expert examination confirmed that the explosion occurred inside the house and that the debris belonged to an artillery shell. The exhumation of the bodies revealed both gunshot wounds and numerous injuries from the explosion. The evidence gathered by the investigation also included the results of examinations, eyewitness testimonies and mobile phone data.

The court concluded that Nesterov directed his subordinates during the crime, was at the scene and threatened to shoot those who tried to approach the house. At the same time, some of the kidnapping charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

The sentence was passed in absentia. The war criminal was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property. He will serve his sentence after his arrest.

Also in April, a former lieutenant colonel was sentenced to life in prison for deporting prisoners from Kherson. According to the investigation, in October 2022, he organized the forced transfer of convicts from a Kherson institution to a colony on the left bank of the region. Subsequently, under his leadership, more than 1500 prisoners were transferred to places of detention in the temporarily occupied territories and Russia.

Анна Бальчінос