Zelensky confirms two civilians brutally murdered by Ukrainian soldiers

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky has confirmed that soldiers of the Ukrainian armed forces’ 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade brutally murdered two residents of a settlement in the Kiev Region.

Ten servicemen have been detained, including the now former brigade commander Stanislav Luchanov.

"Interior Minister Igor Klimenko reported the detention of another person from the group that brutally murdered two residents of the Kalinovka settlement in the Kiev Region. A terrible tragedy," Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel. "Ten people have already been detained. These are, unfortunately, servicemen and the former commander of the 155th Brigade."

Klimenko also reported on his Telegram channel the detention of a tenth suspect in the murder of two brothers in the Kiev Region, saying that the soldiers acted like a gang of thugs. "This is a terrible crime. The outcry it provoked has sparked a public debate about the behavior of individual service members in the rear. Resolving conflicts in this thuggish way is unacceptable," he emphasized.

On Saturday, it was reported that nine soldiers from the 155th Brigade were detained for kidnapping and murdering two brothers in the Kiev Region. As the Zerkalo Nedeli weekly reported, Luchanov ordered his subordinates to punish the two men for antagonizing his wife.

Relatives of the abducted brothers told the Obshchestvennoye publication that overnight to June 28, a group of soldiers broke into the brothers’ yard and took them away to an unknown location. Later, the Ukrainian military police confirmed the detention of a group of individuals involved in the illegal detention and premeditated murder of two civilians. However, Luchanov was not among those detained, as he had left his unit without permission and has been wanted ever since.

On Monday, new details emerged in Ukrainian media, according to which the conflict stemmed from motorcycles revving their engines and preventing Luchanov's wife from sleeping. The settlement residents told reporters that before the abduction, soldiers went around asking where everyone lived. The list they compiled included even minors.

Luchanov had commanded the Ukrainian 155th Brigade since February. Prior to that, he was chief of staff of the Skala assault regiment, which is currently in the focus of a scandal over the torture of mobilized soldiers. In May, a video from the 155th Brigade circulated on social media showing a bound soldier being beaten in front of his fellow soldiers. Luchanov denied any involvement in the incident at the time.