Eduard Ulman, a captain in the special forces of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Russia (GRU), who had been accused of murdering civilians in Chechnya, was reported killed in Ukraine, according to Russian media sources Vazhnie Istorii and Meduza. Ulman, who had been on the run from Russian justice for 17 years following his involvement in the extrajudicial killings, met his end during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The incident that led to Ulman’s notoriety occurred in January 2002 in the Shatoysky District of Chechnya, where he commanded a GRU special forces unit responsible for the execution of six civilians, including a pregnant woman. The victims were falsely identified as militants in a vehicle that failed to stop at a military checkpoint. After the killing, the bodies were burned to destroy evidence of the crime. The operation was reportedly aimed at detaining a Chechen militant leader, but misidentified the civilians as combatants.
A GRU punisher, tried for shooting civilians in the second Chechen war, has been killed in Ukraine after evading the court for 17 years
Russian special forces captain Eduard Ulman, accused of the 2002 incident where civilians were mistakenly fired upon, resulting in six deaths,… pic.twitter.com/oXB8k72vqS
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 3, 2024
Ulman’s case drew significant attention and controversy within Russia. Initially, Russian military courts acquitted Ulman and his unit, citing that they were acting under combat conditions and following orders. However, these acquittals were twice overturned by the Supreme Court following appeals from the families of the victims. In 2007, the North Caucasus District Military Court finally sentenced Ulman to 14 years in a strict regime penal colony. He disappeared shortly before the sentence could be enforced.
The circumstances of Ulman’s death in Ukraine remain unclear, but his passing closes a long-standing case that has been a point of contention in Russian military and legal circles. Ulman had remained on the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted database up until his death.
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