Russian soldier sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking civilian hostage in Kharkiv Oblast

A court has sentenced a Russian prisoner of war to 10 years in prison for taking a local woman hostage and threatening to kill her and her acquaintance during Russia's renewed offensive on the town of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast in September 2025.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office; sources of Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Ten years of imprisonment – this is the sentence handed down by the court following the public prosecution of the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office against a 54-year-old Russian serviceman. He was found guilty of cruel treatment of the civilian population, as well as another violation of the laws and customs of war (Article 438.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)."

Details: According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, the serviceman is 54-year-old Russian national Aleksandr Erzin.

The Prosecutor's Office said that at the time of Russia's renewed attempt to capture Kupiansk, he was a rifleman with the 121st Motorised Rifle Regiment of the 68th Motorised Rifle Division of the Russian Armed Forces' 6th Army.

The investigation established that the Russian soldier entered the building of a local police station and set up a firing position on the fourth floor.

After seeing two local women in the street, the serviceman forced one of them to come upstairs at gunpoint. He initially questioned the woman about her personal details and why she was near the police station, and then ordered her acquaintance to bring him food, threatening to kill the hostage.

While the Russian soldier held one woman under armed guard, the other went home to get food and brought it to the police station.

Afterwards, the serviceman questioned the women again, learned their addresses and ordered them to bring him more food a week later. He threatened to come to their homes and kill them if they refused.

On the appointed day, the women returned to the police station with food, but by then the Russian soldier had already been captured by Ukrainian troops.

Background: A Russian serviceman, Sergei Karpilovich, is standing trial in person in Ukraine on charges of raping a Ukrainian woman while she was living under Russian occupation.

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