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Following SSU investigation, captured ruscist who shot civilians near Kupiansk sentenced to life imprisonment

Security Service of Ukraine

13:00, 14 August 2025

Based on evidence collected by the Security Service, another ruscist, who committed war crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine, has been convicted to life imprisonment. He shot two residents of Kharkiv region who were in the frontline area.

In October 2024, the Defense Forces captured him during fighting on Kupiansk direction.

The perpetrator is 21-year-old russian repeat offender Artem Kulikov, who fought as a rifleman in russia's 23rd motorized rifle brigade of the 6th combined arms army.

He was mobilized into the armed forces of the aggressor state at the end of August 2024 directly from a prison in Nizhny Novgorod, where he was serving a sentence for robbery and theft.

After a short period at a training center, he was sent to the eastern front to attack Ukrainian troops in the border areas of Kharkiv oblast.

During attempts to capture one of the villages in Kupiansk district, Kulikov and an accomplice imprisoned two local residents who were helping a fellow villager evacuate from the combat zone.

As the investigation established, the occupiers tried to beat information about the locations of the Defense Forces out of the victims.

Having failed to obtain any information, Kulikov shot the two men at point-blank range with his automatic rifle. Both victims died on the spot as a result of their injuries.

During the interrogation, the russian mercenary gave incriminating testimony against his commanders, who give orders to kill civilians in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Based on the evidence collected by the SSU, the panel of judges found Kulikov guilty under Articles 28.2 and 438.2 of the CCU (war crimes, committed by a group, upon prior conspiracy).

The investigation was carried out by the SSU Office in Kharkiv region under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor's Office.