Torture of Ukrainian soldiers is apparently not a problem for a Russian commander. He bragged in chats that have now become public.
02/22/2026, 06:0802/22/2026, 06:08
Thomas Wanhoff / t-online
A Russian general is said to have proudly told his wife how Ukrainian soldiers were being tortured. Roman Demurchiev is a major general in the Russian Army and currently deputy commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army. The Russian-language service of the independent media portal Radio Free Europe (RFE) obtained insight into the officer’s correspondence between 2022 and 2024 and checked it for authenticity. The several gigabytes of chats and audio messages were transmitted by a source in the Ukrainian army.
Roman Demurchiew in an office: The Russian officer is said to have bragged about torture. Image: RFE/t-online
In his communications with colleagues, relatives, subordinates and superiors, Demurchiev said he did not disclose any particularly sensitive or secret information. He clearly did not consider his information about prisoner abuse to be such information and told it almost with pride.
For example, according to the documents, on October 18, 2022, Demurchiev told several of his acquaintances and his wife that he had “taken over a fortress” that he had been storming for three days. He added that he had captured four Ukrainians. He attached a photo that showed cut ears hanging from a metal pole.
“Like pig ears to beer”
According to RFE, his wife asked him in a message what he did to the soldiers’ ears. “I’ll make a garland out of it and give it to you,” he is said to have replied. “Like pig’s ears to beer,” is quoted as the answer to his wife. It is unclear exactly when the photo was taken.
But one can assume that the ears belonged to Ukrainian soldiers, according to the portal. Another photo appears to show Ukrainian soldiers with blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their heads. The image was later shared on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s Telegram channel.
According to the research, Demurchiev had, among other things, Chechen soldiers under his command in 2022. During the first Chechen war, there had already been footage of Russian soldiers holding cut-off ears into filmmaker Alexander Nevzorov’s camera. He said then:
«I can tell you with certainty that it is difficult to find a soldier who does not have a dried Chechen ear hidden in his sleeve pocket. It is presented as identification on special occasions.”
“No time to just torture him”
The Russian commander is also said to have suggested brutal methods against Ukrainian soldiers in other messages. According to the report, he spoke of gifts to a Russian nicknamed “Greek” who probably worked for the secret service: “I have a prisoner (…) I can hand him over to you. There he is sitting in the pit (..) What should I do with him – get rid of him or hand him over to you?” the general asks the counterintelligence officer in October 2023. “The Greek” agreed to take the prisoner, but Demurchiev is said to have made it clear, according to the records:
«We didn’t have time to simply torture him, so the information is rather friendly… But you have a lot of time, you can use various means that force a person to tell the truth.»
Radio Free Europe team members found the soldier they were talking about. He was released as part of a prisoner exchange but was unable to discuss details of his captivity. However, he spoke to journalists about mistreatment and electric shocks.
In December 2024, the commander shared a video of Russian soldiers apparently beating Ukrainian prisoners to death with shovels and chopping up the bodies. According to the report, he reported this to his superiors. In it he praised the approach.
“Very well done, keep going, keep going, keep the pressure on the bastards.”
The Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment to RFE. The reporters also managed to call Roman Demurchiev. But when they asked questions, he hung up, according to the journalists.
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