Ukrainian serviceman Maksym Bobylev, who returned from Russian captivity in July 2024, is accused of cooperation with the aggressor country and cruel treatment of prisoners in the colony. His business will consider in Kyiv.
The Pechersk District Court of the capital will consider the case. The preparatory meeting was held on May 13 under the chairmanship of judge Oleg Bilotserkivets. Bobylev has been in custody for over six months and denies his guilt. He was arrested a few weeks after the exchange on suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war — specifically, the ill-treatment of prisoners committed by a group of individuals in a prior conspiracy. He was captured by the Russians on February 24, 2022, near the village of Chaplinka in the Kherson region.
It is believed that from July 28, 2022 to June 21, 2024, he was in the former Kalinin correctional colony in occupied Horlivka, Donetsk region. Ukrainian prisoners of war, security forces and civilians were held there under the control of representatives of the so-called “DNR” who had Ukrainian citizenship.
During the years 2024-2025, at least two dozen workers of the colony were declared suspicious in cases related to the abuse of prisoners. The investigation believes that Bobylev not only cooperated with the staff of the colony, but also personally participated in the beatings. He is charged with four separate episodes involving five victims between September 2023 and January 2024.
At the beginning of 2025, suspicion was reported in absentia to three more workers of the colony – Kononenko, Karyanov and Andreev, whom the investigation considers accomplices. At the pre-trial stage, about twenty witnesses were questioned, investigative experiments were conducted with the victims, as well as simultaneous interrogations with the participation of Bobylev himself, during which the victims stood by their testimonies.
During a personal search, a mobile phone and a notebook were taken from Bobylev. According to the investigators, calls and messages to the number of a Russian mobile operator were found in the phone. The notebook contained entries with personal data, an e-mail address and a mobile number. If found guilty, Bobylev faces 8 to 12 years in prison.
