Four Russian soldiers are led by guards into the spacious chamber of the Poltava region's Kotelevsky district court They are seated on a bench in a glass booth the defendants were brought to court in Kotelva from the Kharkiv detention centre they participated with their defence lawyers by video conference you are the oldest and you will be the first to give explanations quickly,” a lawyer instructs the Russian soldier with glasses who is sitting in the middle Judge Antonina Sholudko will indeed talk first to Ruslan Kolesnikov and then to his younger companions: Mikhail Ivanov All four soldiers were captured a couple of months ago when the Ukrainian army regained control of the Kharkiv region that had been occupied by the Russian Federation They are assisted in court by an interpreter and by four lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Centre - one for each soldier in early September in the village of Borova the Russians tortured three local residents who had taken part in a military operation in Donetsk and Lugansk regions during the first episode of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014-2015 The four Russian soldiers were following instructions from their leader an unidentified military officer code-named “Amur” It was Amur who allegedly gave the accused instructions to bring the three victims in for questioning as former members of the ATO (the “Anti-Terrorist Operation” held by Ukraine to counter the separatist forces in Donbass) The prosecutor spent 40 minutes presenting the charges Russian soldiers captured Vladimir Pushkar They put plastic restraints on his hands and a bag over his head The man was then taken in a white pick-up truck to the "Miner's Light" recreation centre in the neighbouring village of Novoplatonovka where he was held in a 3x3 metre pit dug in the ground Amur interrogated the prisoner about other residents of Borova who participated in the ATO Pushkar was again restrained with hand binders and a bag on his head before he was taken into the area of the local hospital the Russians likewise imprisoned Andrei Maliovany Amur threatened to cut off Maliovany's fingers if he did not tell the occupants useful information about his fellow villagers the Russians came to Sergei Sotnik's house and took him away the captive was detained in a pit and interrogated being repeatedly beaten on his limbs with a hammer Copies of the indictment in their own language had already been provided to them beforehand was a squad leader in the 16th Brigade of the Spetsnaz GRU but is a citizen of the Russian Federation and lives in Voronezh Kolesnikov and Ivanov are from the private military company (PMC) “Redut” while the other two are from the 16th Brigade of the GRU all four reported to the court that they were from the 16th Brigade The prosecutor said that the PMC was allegedly independent from the brigade but also belonged to the armed formations of the Russian Federation Kolesnikov said that "Redut" was indeed created within the 16th Brigade the case was heard in a simplified procedure - without examining all the evidence The court limited itself to questioning them Kolesnikov briefly responds to the offer to testify: “I agree with the charges” The judge explains that they should say exactly when Kolesnikov recalls that his brigade departed for Borova on August 29 Their own commander was constantly away and ordered them to obey the military officer called “Amur” We had a pit - our punished soldiers were put there talked to them and in 2-3 days we drove them back everything is written…” Kolesnikov nods at the prosecutor The Russian does not deny that the victims had restraints on their hands and bags over their heads as well as were subjected to psychological pressure About Amur's threat to cut off the prisoner's fingers he had only heard about it from his companions The prosecutor reminds Kolesnikov that he himself and his companions struck the victim Sotnik twice in the arms and legs with a hammer The defendant Ivanov confirms violence against Sotnik: The judge asks whether they were aware that they were mistreating civilians and violating the laws and customs of war The Russian soldiers reply that they were aware and are now feeling remorse the prosecutor asks for 11 years of imprisonment for all of them - “I fully agree with the prosecution and with the punishment We were carrying out the order of a higher command,” Kolesnikov said His lawyer Liudmila Kalyuzhnaya said that there had been no irreversible consequences from what he had done so she urged the court to impose a shorter term than the one asked by the prosecutor The other defence lawyers pointed out that the soldiers followed the orders of their commander and that this was the first time they had committed a crime they insisted that the punishment should be as minimal as legally possible.  the defendants apologised to the victims and to the entire Ukrainian nation Ivanov apologised to his “Slavic brothers no one is officially saying that the Russians will be exchanged walking past the glass booth in which the defendants sit bored while waiting for a decision drops a remark: “These terms will make no difference to you.” The verdict is quickly passed: the Russians are sentenced to 11 years in prison This report is part of our coverage of war crimes justice produced in partnership with Ukrainian journalists. A first version of this article was published on the "Sudovyi Reporter" website. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker "During large-scale rescue archaeological works at Kotelva II settlement, an area of ​​more than 360 sqm was explored and 40 archaeological objects (grain and garbage pits, various economic buildings) were discovered. No dwellings were found. Probably, they were destroyed during the development of a quarry that operated in this area in the past years,” Ihor Korost, director of the reserve, told an Ukrinform correspondent. Spinning wheels and fragments of local Scythian ceramics were among the discovered objects. The archaeologists also found an impressive number of arrowheads. "The majority of the archaeological material dates back to the Scythian period, with the chronological limits of the end of the 6th - the first half of the 5th century BC. It is interesting that fragments of ancient ceramics were found in the excavation (production centers – Klazomenai, Chios, Thasos, Abderus). There were also several fragments of Greek tableware (from Attica and Olbia)," said the head of the Historical and Cultural Reserve "Bilsk". He added that it was thanks to the conducted research that it was possible to draw attention to the preservation of this settlement. Sand mining operations at the quarry were stopped, and the site was put on the List of Newly Discovered Cultural Heritage Sites. During the excavations at another site (the settlement of Staryi Karyer) on Kotelva land, archaeologists, among other things, discovered and explored a dwelling of the Late Bronze Age. "Just imagine, it is more than 3,300 years old! Its dimensions are approximately 8 × 8 m. A significant amount of ceramics and a spinning wheel decorated with various ornaments turned are valuable. Further research of the site will make it possible to determine its exact age, establish the stages of development, and features of settlement," Korost emphasized. Most historians associate the Scythian settlement near the village of Bilsk with the settlement of Gelonus, described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. Archaeological research of the site was launched by Vasyl Horodtsov in 1906. Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421. © 2015-2025 Ukrinform. All rights reserved. Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin attend their trial hearing in Kotelva Link copiedShareShare articleA Ukrainian court has sentenced two captured Russian soldiers to 11-and-a-half years in prison each for shelling a town in eastern Ukraine the second war crimes verdict since the start of Russia's invasion in February Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov both pleaded guilty last week to violating the laws and customs of war over the shelling of civilian infrastructure in the Kharkiv region on the first day of the Russian attack on Ukraine The Russian servicemen listened to the verdict while standing in a reinforced glass box at the Kotelevska district court in central Ukraine "The guilt of Bobikin and Ivanov has been proven in full," Judge Evhen Bolybok said Both last week acknowledged being part of an artillery unit that fired at targets in the Kharkiv region from the Belgorod region in Russia The shelling destroyed an educational facility in the town of Derhachi The two soldiers pleaded guilty to shelling a town in eastern Ukraine described as an artillery driver and a gunner were captured after crossing the border and continuing the shelling Prosecutors had asked the court to jail the Russian servicemen for 12 years saying the two soldiers had been following orders and repented the two were asked if they felt the sentence was fair and both said yes Guards armed with Kalashnikov rifles handcuffed the two and led them out of the courtroom A Ukrainian court sentences a Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's invasion The first war crime verdict was handed down on May 23 when tank commander Vadim Shishimarin, 21, was sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian.  He pleaded guilty to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in the north-eastern Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on February 28 after being ordered to shoot at him from a car. Kyiv has accused Russia of atrocities and brutality against civilians during the invasion and has said it has identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes. Russia has denied targeting civilians nor any involvement in war crimes while it carries out what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Topic:Food and Beverage Processing Industry CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)