Russian General Demurchiev confirms torture and killings of Ukrainian soldiers
Investigative projects Skhemy and System obtained the archive of personal correspondence of Russian General Roman Demurchiev. In his messages to close associates and fellow officers, he boasted about torturing, executing, and desecrating the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, including prisoners of war.
This has been reported by Russian media.
The 49-year-old Demurchiev is an active participant in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces. Journalists note that the Russian authorities highly regard him: he attended meetings with senior command and received awards. In 2023, Vladimir Putin awarded Demurchiev the rank of Major General.
At least until December 2024, he served as deputy commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army of Russia. His current posting is unknown in public sources.
Journalists examined correspondence from 2022–2024, which includes not only text messages but also photos and videos documenting torture and killings of Ukrainian soldiers.
In messages to his wife and colleagues, the general repeatedly mentioned severed ears of Ukrainians and shared photographs:
— “What should I do with them afterward?” — asks his wife.
— “I’ll make a garland and give it as a gift.”
— “Like pig ears with beer.”
— “Yep.”
Demurchiev discussed treatment of prisoners with a military counterintelligence officer named Roman. In October 2023, the general asked whether to kill a prisoner or hand him over for torture. The victim was eventually returned to Ukraine in a swap and confirmed beatings and electric torture while in captivity.
In December 2024, Demurchiev discussed with subordinates a video in which former prisoners captured three Ukrainian soldiers and beat them with entrenching shovels. Correspondence also shows that the general reported this to the 20th Army commander, General Oleg Mityaev, who ordered the perpetrators to be rewarded.
Previously, three Russian servicemen were sentenced to 12 years in prison each for the cruel treatment of a civilian in the village of Havronschyna in Kyiv region.
