Panchenko Vitaliy Vasilevich (Panchenko Vitaliy Vasilovich)

In September 2024, in the Kursk region, Ukrainian citizens, soldiers of the 61st Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Vitaly Panchenko and Ivan Dmitrakov, were taken prisoner by Russian military personnel. Subsequently, criminal cases were opened against the military personnel for attempted murder, committing a terrorist act, attempting on the life of a law enforcement officer, using violence against a representative of authority or their relatives, illegally crossing the state border of the Russian Federation, and committing "other crimes." 5. Panchenko was also accused of kidnapping and looting. According to the Russian investigation's version, on August 7, 2024, Panchenko and Dmitrakov, being on the territory of our country, repeatedly opened fire to kill, both at Russian military personnel and at the civilian population. It is also claimed that the Ukrainians, using physical force and threatening with weapons, placed against their will three unidentified civilians and 11 conscripts, citizens of Russia, in the body of a truck, after which they were taken to Ukrainian territory. The investigation also accused Panchenko and other Ukrainian military personnel of stealing food from the Pyaterochka store in Sudzha, causing damage amounting to 6 million. rubles. On October 21, 2024, the court in Kursk, at the request of the investigation, chose detention as a measure of restraint for both servicemen. On December 12, 2024, the 2nd Western Military District Court found the defendants guilty and sentenced Vitaly Panchenko to 15 years and Ivan Petrakov to 14 years of imprisonment, with the first three years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony. March 17, 2025, the Appellate Military Court upheld the verdict.