Ukraine Identifies Russian War Crimes Suspect From Cnn Report

Butsa’s prosecutor’s office in the Kyiv region says CNN’s exclusive report was instrumental in identifying the Russian soldier.
Prosecutors say the suspect is Nikolai Sergeevich Sokovikov, adding that Russia has been informed of his charges of “violation of the laws and customs of war” and “intentional murder.” CNN reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment, but did not receive a response. CNN also asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to respond to our original report in May and never received a response.

Civilians were shot in the back

In footage of the incident recently obtained by CNN this week, two soldiers can be clearly seen shooting at something next to an operation they just caught. Other videos of the incident reveal that their target was two unarmed civilians, shot in the back immediately after a calm conversation with the soldiers.
The incident happened in March outside a vehicle dealership in a village near Kyiv, as Russian forces tried to take the Ukrainian capital in the first days of the invasion.
Sokovikov, along with another unidentified soldier, inflicted at least 12 gunshot wounds on civilians, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. He was part of a group of soldiers who then ransacked the business and loaded stolen goods into a car marked “Tank Special Forces RUS”, prosecutors said in a statement.
CNN previously identified the victims. One was the owner of the looted dealership, whose family does not want to be named. The other was Leonid Oleksiyovych Plyats, a 68-year-old grandfather who worked as a security guard there.
In addition to the murder, the surveillance video shows more unprofessional behavior by the group of five soldiers, who are seen on camera drinking and toasting each other. The group was identified as members of the invasion force by their uniforms, analysis of who controlled which area at the time, and witness statements. The video has been verified by CNN. Prosecutors won’t say exactly how they identified the particular soldier. However, CNN has previously reported on one part of the process used by Ukrainian authorities — facial recognition technology.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation uploads images of suspects to software that scours social media sites for matching photos. Once investigators have a match, they confirm it with friends and family on the suspects’ social media.
According to prosecutors, the hunt for this latest war crimes suspect had been ongoing for months. While the preliminary investigation is ongoing, it is at least a step towards justice for the families of the victims.
CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Oleksandra Titorova contributed to this report.

title: “Ukraine Identifies Russian War Crimes Suspect From Cnn Report Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-13” author: “Gary Duran”

Butsa’s prosecutor’s office in the Kyiv region says CNN’s exclusive report was instrumental in identifying the Russian soldier.
Prosecutors say the suspect is Nikolai Sergeevich Sokovikov, adding that Russia has been informed of his charges of “violation of the laws and customs of war” and “intentional murder.” CNN reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment, but did not receive a response. CNN also asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to respond to our original report in May and never received a response.

Civilians were shot in the back

In footage of the incident recently obtained by CNN this week, two soldiers can be clearly seen shooting at something next to an operation they just caught. Other videos of the incident reveal that their target was two unarmed civilians, shot in the back immediately after a calm conversation with the soldiers.
The incident happened in March outside a vehicle dealership in a village near Kyiv, as Russian forces tried to take the Ukrainian capital in the first days of the invasion.
Sokovikov, along with another unidentified soldier, inflicted at least 12 gunshot wounds on civilians, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. He was part of a group of soldiers who then ransacked the business and loaded stolen goods into a car marked “Tank Special Forces RUS”, prosecutors said in a statement.
CNN previously identified the victims. One was the owner of the looted dealership, whose family does not want to be named. The other was Leonid Oleksiyovych Plyats, a 68-year-old grandfather who worked as a security guard there.
In addition to the murder, the surveillance video shows more unprofessional behavior by the group of five soldiers, who are seen on camera drinking and toasting each other. The group was identified as members of the invasion force by their uniforms, analysis of who controlled which area at the time, and witness statements. The video has been verified by CNN. Prosecutors won’t say exactly how they identified the particular soldier. However, CNN has previously reported on one part of the process used by Ukrainian authorities — facial recognition technology.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation uploads images of suspects to software that scours social media sites for matching photos. Once investigators have a match, they confirm it with friends and family on the suspects’ social media.
According to prosecutors, the hunt for this latest war crimes suspect had been ongoing for months. While the preliminary investigation is ongoing, it is at least a step towards justice for the families of the victims.
CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Oleksandra Titorova contributed to this report.

title: “Ukraine Identifies Russian War Crimes Suspect From Cnn Report Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Lawrence Kelley”

Butsa’s prosecutor’s office in the Kyiv region says CNN’s exclusive report was instrumental in identifying the Russian soldier.
Prosecutors say the suspect is Nikolai Sergeevich Sokovikov, adding that Russia has been informed of his charges of “violation of the laws and customs of war” and “intentional murder.” CNN reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment, but did not receive a response. CNN also asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to respond to our original report in May and never received a response.

Civilians were shot in the back

In footage of the incident recently obtained by CNN this week, two soldiers can be clearly seen shooting at something next to an operation they just caught. Other videos of the incident reveal that their target was two unarmed civilians, shot in the back immediately after a calm conversation with the soldiers.
The incident happened in March outside a vehicle dealership in a village near Kyiv, as Russian forces tried to take the Ukrainian capital in the first days of the invasion.
Sokovikov, along with another unidentified soldier, inflicted at least 12 gunshot wounds on civilians, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. He was part of a group of soldiers who then ransacked the business and loaded stolen goods into a car marked “Tank Special Forces RUS”, prosecutors said in a statement.
CNN previously identified the victims. One was the owner of the looted dealership, whose family does not want to be named. The other was Leonid Oleksiyovych Plyats, a 68-year-old grandfather who worked as a security guard there.
In addition to the murder, the surveillance video shows more unprofessional behavior by the group of five soldiers, who are seen on camera drinking and toasting each other. The group was identified as members of the invasion force by their uniforms, analysis of who controlled which area at the time, and witness statements. The video has been verified by CNN. Prosecutors won’t say exactly how they identified the particular soldier. However, CNN has previously reported on one part of the process used by Ukrainian authorities — facial recognition technology.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation uploads images of suspects to software that scours social media sites for matching photos. Once investigators have a match, they confirm it with friends and family on the suspects’ social media.
According to prosecutors, the hunt for this latest war crimes suspect had been ongoing for months. While the preliminary investigation is ongoing, it is at least a step towards justice for the families of the victims.
CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Oleksandra Titorova contributed to this report.

title: “Ukraine Identifies Russian War Crimes Suspect From Cnn Report Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-30” author: “Suzanne Correira”

Butsa’s prosecutor’s office in the Kyiv region says CNN’s exclusive report was instrumental in identifying the Russian soldier.
Prosecutors say the suspect is Nikolai Sergeevich Sokovikov, adding that Russia has been informed of his charges of “violation of the laws and customs of war” and “intentional murder.” CNN reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment, but did not receive a response. CNN also asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to respond to our original report in May and never received a response.

Civilians were shot in the back

In footage of the incident recently obtained by CNN this week, two soldiers can be clearly seen shooting at something next to an operation they just caught. Other videos of the incident reveal that their target was two unarmed civilians, shot in the back immediately after a calm conversation with the soldiers.
The incident happened in March outside a vehicle dealership in a village near Kyiv, as Russian forces tried to take the Ukrainian capital in the first days of the invasion.
Sokovikov, along with another unidentified soldier, inflicted at least 12 gunshot wounds on civilians, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. He was part of a group of soldiers who then ransacked the business and loaded stolen goods into a car marked “Tank Special Forces RUS”, prosecutors said in a statement.
CNN previously identified the victims. One was the owner of the looted dealership, whose family does not want to be named. The other was Leonid Oleksiyovych Plyats, a 68-year-old grandfather who worked as a security guard there.
In addition to the murder, the surveillance video shows more unprofessional behavior by the group of five soldiers, who are seen on camera drinking and toasting each other. The group was identified as members of the invasion force by their uniforms, analysis of who controlled which area at the time, and witness statements. The video has been verified by CNN. Prosecutors won’t say exactly how they identified the particular soldier. However, CNN has previously reported on one part of the process used by Ukrainian authorities — facial recognition technology.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation uploads images of suspects to software that scours social media sites for matching photos. Once investigators have a match, they confirm it with friends and family on the suspects’ social media.
According to prosecutors, the hunt for this latest war crimes suspect had been ongoing for months. While the preliminary investigation is ongoing, it is at least a step towards justice for the families of the victims.
CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Oleksandra Titorova contributed to this report.