A Russian serviceman has been sentenced to life imprisonment for firing upon a civilian vehicle during an evacuation in the Kharkiv region in March 2022. The shelling resulted in the deaths of a father and a 9-year-old child, while two other family members sustained serious injuries. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to UNN.
Following a public prosecution by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, a court sentenced a Russian serviceman to life imprisonment for shooting at a civilian car in the Kharkiv region in March 2022. As a result of the attack, a father and his 9-year-old daughter were killed, while the mother and a 17-year-old son sustained serious injuries
On June 16, 2026, the court found a 23-year-old serviceman of the 237th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation guilty of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, version prior to 24.10.2024), and imposed the most severe punishment.
The tragedy occurred on March 2, 2022, near the village of Dementiivka in the Kharkiv district, which was under occupation at the time. A family of four was attempting to evacuate in their own car when they were spotted by a Russian soldier from a tank.
Without any grounds for using weapons and fully aware that there were civilians in front of him, he opened fire with a heavy machine gun. After the first shots, the driver lost control, the car veered off the road, and subsequently, the occupier fired at it again — this time with aimed fire, after which the vehicle caught fire.
The father and child died on the spot. Despite their serious injuries, the mother and son managed to escape the burning car and were rescued by local residents.
After the shooting, the soldier approached the wounded and stated: "I have orders to shoot at everyone," after which he left the crime scene.