Russian General Bragged In Correspondence With His Wife That He Tortured And Killed Prisoners Of War
- 20.02.2026, 11:58
Shocking confessions.
Investigative projects Schema and Sistema have obtained an archive of personal correspondence of Russian General Roman Demurchiev, who bragged to his relatives and coworkers about torture, executions and abuse of the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, including those captured, writes meduza.io.
Warning: The material contains shocking details, descriptions of torture and murder. This is done to document the nature of the crimes committed. If this is unacceptable to you or may harm you, do not read this text
49-year-old Demurchiev is an active participant in the Russian Armed Forces' full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Journalists note that the Russian authorities hold him in high esteem: he went to meetings with top commanders and received awards. In 2023, Vladimir Putin promoted Demurchiev to the rank of major general.
At least until December 2024, Demurchiev held the position of deputy commander of the 20th All-Russian Army. There is no data about his current place of service in open sources.
In the framework of the investigation, journalists of "Scheme" and "Sistema" studied the archive of the general's correspondence for 2022-2024, which they received from a source in the Ukrainian army. The archive contains not only messages, but also videos and photos that testify to the torture and murder of Ukrainian military.
So, in correspondence with coworkers and his wife, the general repeatedly mentioned cutting off the ears of Ukrainians. As proof of his words, Demurchiev also shared photos with severed ears. For example, he discussed this photo with his wife as follows:
- And then what to do with them? -
- I'll make a garland and give them as gifts.
- Like pig ears for beer.
- Yeah.
The journalists were unable to establish when and under what circumstances this photo was taken.
Demurchiev often discussed the treatment of prisoners of war with a military counterintelligence officer named Roman. In October 2023, the general asked him what to do with one of the captured Ukrainians - kill him or give him to Roman for torture. Demurchiev's interlocutor eventually took the prisoner. The Ukrainian mentioned in the correspondence returned home as a result of the exchange, he confirmed that in captivity he was severely beaten and tortured with electric current. Judging from the correspondence, Roman responded by sending prisoners and detainees to the general with a request to kill them.
In December 2024, Demurchiev discussed with his subordinates a video of former prisoners taking three Ukrainian soldiers captive and then bludgeoning them with sapper blades. The correspondence shows that Demurchiev also reported the incident to his superior, the commander of the 20th Army, General Oleh Mityaev, who ordered the former prisoners to be rewarded.