The SSU and the National Police have collected evidence against two russian war criminals who tortured to death colonel Oleksii Telizhenko, Assistant to the Rector of the SSU National Academy.

The perpetrators are lieutenant colonel Denis Suvorov, commander of the 175^th separate reconnaissance battalion of the 76^th airborne assault Pskov division of russia’s airborne troops, and his deputy, captain Aslan Kaskulov.

At the beginning of the full-scale war, both occupiers took part in the seizure of part of Kyiv region and conducted so-called ‘mopping-up’ operations.

To do this, on the orders of Suvorov and Kaskulov, their subordinates drove around the then-occupied settlements, broke into homes and abducted the residents.

During one of these raids in Bucha on 6 March 2022, the ruscists imprisoned Oleksiy Telizhenko and brought him to a command post in a forest near the village of Vorzel.

There, Suvorov and Kaskulov ordered their subordinates to tie the Ukrainian officer to a tree and began to torture him.

According to the investigation, Suvorov personally struck the victim’s head and torso with his hands and feet and then stuck a wooden stake into the wound on his head.

The torture lasted for several hours. Then, the semi-conscious Telizhenko was thrown into a pre-digged pit, where he died at night from his injuries and cold.

After the de-occupation of the area, the body of the tortured officer was found at the scene. Another 8 persons in civilian clothes, who were also killed by rucists, were found there.

Based on the evidence, SSU investigators notified Suvorov and Kaskulov of suspicion in absentia under Articles 28.2, 438.1, 438.2 of the CCU (violation of laws and customs of war, committed upon prior conspiracy).

Efforts to bring the war criminals to justice are underway.

The investigation was carried out by the SSU Office in Kyiv and Kyiv region jointly with the National Police under the procedural supervision of Kyiv Region Prosecutor’s Office.