Кřеmílek 👥 Vochomůrka

It feels almost like winter in Kyiv right now, just like in the spring of 2022, when our entire team, huddled in a basement in Kharkiv, was trying to come up with a universal framework for investigating war crimes that were new to us. It was on one of those days, while discussing our cases, that we were analyzing russian intercepted communications. In one of those intercepted conversations, a russian soldier described how he had killed a civilian and wounded a woman. One of my deputies, Dmytro Soima, noticed the make of the car. When he heard the phrase, “A Mazda came under fire,” we realized that the incident had already been officially registered as a criminal proceeding and involved civilians deliberately targeted by enemy fire. From that moment on, we launched an active investigation. Later, this case became known around the world. Klim Kerzhaev, a senior lieutenant from Moscow and commander of the first motorized rifle company, who bragged to his wife that he had shot a Ukrainian couple, was sentenced in absentia to fifteen years in prison. CNN journalists produced a report on the brutal crime and the woman’s rescue, which aired during prime time and was watched worldwide. For us, this case was also extraordinary. The crime was captured on drone footage. The video shows russians dumping a wounded Ukrainian civilian by the roadside. We also had audio—intercepted conversations between the russian killer and his wife, in which he recounted the shooting. A unique case — but not just luck. Everything came together here: the investigators’ intuition, and above all, the system we managed to put in place at the very beginning of the invasion. It was a rigorous approach—we did everything possible to ensure that not a single war crime went unnoticed. Every such incident was entered into Ukraine’s Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations and thoroughly investigated. Yes, it was difficult. But it produced results. In the end, it was this approach that allowed us to clearly identify the perpetrator and gather sufficient evidence. At the time, I personally contacted the drone operator who located and effectively rescued the wounded woman by attaching a note to the drone that read “Follow me.” By then, he was already near Bakhmut, but the investigation became a priority for us, and we mobilized all our efforts. The team of investigators and investigator Yana Cigichko then traveled across half the country with experts from the Kharkiv Regional Forensic Science Center, located and examined the bullet-riddled vehicle, commissioned and carried out numerous forensic examinations, and, after the de-occupation, were the first on the scene to collect physical evidence. They also spoke with captured russians who helped identify the voice on the audio recording. The investigators, together with a group of prosecutors led by Department Head Igor Chub and operatives from the regional Strategic Investigations Department, conducted a full-scale special operation to lawfully obtain voice samples of the russian serviceman. They then obtained confirmation through forensic voice analysis. They also worked at the crime scene, where, together with ballistics experts, they determined the firing position. They collaborated with the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). This is one of those investigations that future investigators in law schools should study. I am very proud of that team, which instantly adapted to working in wartime—to a reality where murder meant the execution of an ordinary family with a 30-millimeter cannon. If anyone missed this story, I’ll leave a link in the first comment. I’m sure that more than one documentary or feature film will be made about this someday.