Ukraine issues first notice of suspicion against Russian commander over Bucha war crimes

For the first time, Ukrainian prosecutors have named a Russian platoon commander as a suspect in the Bucha mass killings, a report by the human rights organization Global Rights Compliance said. The suspect is Yurii Kim, a platoon commander in the Russian army’s 76th Air Assault Division. Until now, Ukraine had brought suspicions only against lower-ranking soldiers.

“The evidence shows that Yurii Vladimirovich Kim is suspected of being criminally responsible for 17 killings and four instances of ill-treatment purposely committed by forces under his command in Bucha. This includes wilful killings and inhumane treatment of civilians — all of which contributed to one of the bloodiest massacres in Ukraine’s history.

Investigators have identified information that evidences multiple instances where Yurii Vladimirovich Kim specifically ordered his forces to hunt, harm, and kill individuals perceived as supporting or assisting Ukrainian armed or security forces. After the civilian killings had taken place, evidence shows the Commander ordered his subordinates to burn some of the bodies to conceal the crime,” the GRC said.

Naming someone a suspect is a procedural step that can lead to a warrant for arrest. “The notice of suspicion served to a commander of a unit of the Russian Armed Forces marks a fundamentally important step towards justice for the systematic and large-scale war crimes committed in Bucha,” said Ukraine’s deputy prosecutor general Andrii Leshchenko.

The GRC added that Kim’s alleged responsibility was “outlined using a variety of investigative methodologies and evidential sources including witness testimonies, crime scene reconstructions, identity parades, crime scene forensics, maps, and open-source intelligence.” The organization also noted that the findings point to the organized and systematic nature of the war crimes, “implicating the Russian leadership in a coordinated criminal plan” that could provide a basis for further investigations.

Ukraine’s military intelligence earlier published information on five Russian service members accused of involvement in the killing of 17 people in Bucha. Among them was Lt. Yurii Vladimirovich Kim, identified as the platoon commander of the 4th air assault company of the 2nd battalion tactical group of the 234th Air Assault Regiment of the Russian army’s 76th Division. According to the intelligence service, he resides in Balashikha outside Moscow.

According to the Bucha City Council’s data from March 2025, 554 people were killed in Bucha, the settlements of Vorzel and Babyntsi, and 11 surrounding villages between Feb. 24 and March 31, 2022, during the fighting and Russian occupation. Another 28 residents were killed outside the community, in neighboring towns. The total number of victims is 582 — 435 malesand 147 females. Among that figure were 12 children aged 1.7 to 15.

In December 2022, The New York Times reported that the killings in Bucha occurred with the knowledge of Col. Artem Gorodilov, commander of Russia’s 234th Air Assault Regiment. The names of Russian service members implicated in the atrocities continue to be published. In late September 2025, The Sunday Times identified 13 additional suspect officers linked to the Bucha killings, five of whom were named for the first time.