The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has begun examining written and physical evidence in the case of a native of the Kherson region, marine Maksym Bobyliev, who is accused of cruel treatment of comrades while in Russian captivity.
This was reported by the Judicial Reporter.
Bobyliev served in the 137th Marine Battalion and was captured by the occupiers on the first day of the full-scale invasion, February 24, 2022, on the territory of the settlement Chaplynka. After Bobyliev returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange in July 2024, other released servicemen publicly alleged his cooperation with the administration of a torture facility in occupied Horlivka.
In particular, a witness in the case, Viktor Lakhno, reported that Bobyliev closely cooperated with the guards of the Kalinin correctional colony, took part in the brutal “receptions” of transferred Azov fighters, and worked in the disciplinary isolation ward where mass torture took place.
According to the investigation, the accused befriended a notorious torturer nicknamed “Kortik” and provided the administration with information about other prisoners.
Witnesses also claim that Bobyliev expressed an intention to obtain Russian citizenship and initially refused to return to Ukraine.
Bobyliev is currently charged with six counts of participating in cruel treatment of prisoners of war under the article on violations of the laws and customs of war. The defendant is in custody, but denies his guilt and plans to give testimony at the end of the trial.
If found guilty, the marine faces 8 to 12 years of imprisonment.