Dmitriy Kurashov, a 26-year-old former Russian prisoner recruited into the army, pleaded guilty in a Zaporizhzhia court to killing 41-year-old Ukrainian soldier Vitalii Hodniuk in January 2024. Kurashov served with a Storm-V assault unit composed almost entirely of convicts who were offered freedom in exchange for combat service.
Russian Soldier Faces Trial for Alleged Ukrainian POW Execution