Court in Ochakiv sentences commander of «cossack» brigade to 12 years for torture of Kinburn residents «Don»

A court has sentenced the commander of an artillery platoon of the Russian «cossack» brigade «Don» Evgenii Deli with the call sign «Rus» to 12 years in absentia, who was involved in the abuse of residents of the occupied Kinburn Peninsula.

The relevant verdict was passed by the Ochakiv District Court, according to the website of the Prosecutor General's Office.

The 28-year-old Russian was found guilty of committing a criminal offence under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

It should be noted that Delhi was the first to be suspected of torturing the residents of Kinburn.

He was on the peninsula in August 2022 as part of a platoon of the Cossack brigade «Don» of the Russian illegal armed formation (IAF). Together with other soldiers, they arrived at the house of a resident of the village of Vasylivka, entered and wrapped ropes around the man's head, tied his hands, and then put him in the back of a KamAZ truck. He was then taken to the territory of the occupied part of the Kherson region, where he was held for at least seven days. During his captivity, the man was tortured. Later, he was taken to the Kherson region, where he was thrown out partially undressed, without documents or clothes.

In another episode investigated by law enforcement, in September 2022, Evgenii Deli arrived at the home of another local resident and ordered his subordinates to handcuff the woman. She was wrapped in a towel and taken to a house in the village of Pokrovka, where she was handcuffed to a chair and taken to the Kherson region in the morning.

She was held there for seven days without food or water, and later returned and dumped near Pokrovka.

The so-called «cossack» volunteer brigade «Don» has been occupying the Kinburn Peninsula and the spit of the same name since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. In addition to capturing the Kinburn Peninsula, members of this group fought near Mariupol and Izium. For this, 48 «cossacks» received medals from Russian President Vladimir Putin in August.

Ukrainian journalists managed to identify the soldiers in February 2023. At the same time, on 1 February, the Security Service of Ukraine in Mykolaiv region launched criminal proceedings on the facts of violation of the laws and customs of war on the territory of Ochakiv and the Kinburn Peninsula by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, including the «cossack» brigade «Don».

See also: «It was a game of Russian roulette. And I didn't know if I would get out alive». Stories of Snihurivka residents who survived torture under occupation

What is happening on Kinburn?

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the territory of the Kinburn Spit has been occupied by the Russian military. In fact, the Russians have been shelling the Ochakiv and Kutsurub communities of Mykolaiv region for more than a year.

So far, only three settlements in Mykolaiv region, located on the territory of the Kinburn Spit, remain occupied. These are the following settlements:

• Vasylivka village. Before the full-scale war, the population was 382 people;

• Pokrovka village. Before the full-scale war, the population was 229 people;

• Pokrovske village. Before the full-scale war, the population was 177 people.

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, said that the liberation of the Kinburn Spit is a matter of time, «and not a very long one at that». This was also confirmed by the spokesperson for the Southern Defence Forces, Nataliia Humeniuk.

At the same time, the Russian occupiers continue to shell and mine the protected area of the Kinburn Peninsula. Wild animals are killed by mines there almost every day, and there are cases of human casualties. This is described in the article NikVesti «On the brink of destruction: How the protected Kinburn Spit is suffering from the actions of the occupiers»

Throughout the occupation, forests have been burning on the Kinburn Spit from time to time. The situation is usually complicated by the fact that the Russian occupiers did not allow rescuers to extinguish the fire, so fires can last for weeks. At the same time, as noted in the OVA, Mykolaiv region cannot help extinguish the fires there, as all fire stations and equipment that can reach there are located in the occupied territories of Kherson region.

Red Book orchids and other unique plants and animals are under threat because of the fires on Kinburn, Ombudsman Liudmyla Denisova said.

After the de-occupation, the Kinburn Spit will need time to restore nature on its own, according to «Sviatoslav's Biloberezhzhia». This will happen while the demining of the protected area continues.

In October 2024, Serhii Beliakov, the mayor of the occupied villages of Pokrovka and Vasylivka on the Kinburn Peninsula, complained about the actions of the Russian military, which looted, threatened violence and reprisals against the local population.