The investigative projects Schemes and Systema published an investigation based on the archived personal correspondence of Russian military officer Roman Demurchiev. Messages the general sent to his colleagues and relatives in 2022–2024 contain detailed descriptions of torture and extrajudicial killings, as well as photos and videos documenting Russian soldiers’ perpetration of these war crimes. According to information from the examined correspondence and from the journalists’ sources, as of late December 2024 Demurchiev held the position of deputy commander of Russia’s 20th Combined Arms Army. There is no publicly available information on his current place of service. Journalists verified the authenticity of the correspondence, identified several of the people the general was messaging, and reconstructed the context of the events described. The resulting publication includes excerpts of messages in which Demurchiev describes the shooting of prisoners, discusses their “disposal,” and shares photos and videos showing the brutal treatment of captives. In one episode, the general writes about former Russian convicts using entrenching shovels to kill Ukrainian soldiers after the latter had surrendered. Demurchiev reported the massacre to his immediate superior — Oleg Mityaev, the commander of the 20th Army. In his response, Mityaev praised the actions of his subordinates and suggested nominating them for an award: “The convicts who took the position and hacked them with entrenching shovels — if they survive, God willing, they must be nominated for an award. Keep pressing forward, well done… Well done, crush, crush the f*cking bastards.” In one of the messages, Demurchiev sent his wife a photo of severed human ears strung on a thread. “And then what do you plan to do with them?” his wife asks. “I’ll make a garland and give it as a gift.” “Like pig ears to have with beer.” “Uh-huh.” The investigators were unable to determine whose severed ears were on the string, but the context of the correspondence indicates that Demurchiev obtained them in 2022. A separate section of the investigation focuses on Demurchiev’s correspondence with a contact saved in his phone as “The Greek.” Based on the context of their communication and journalists’ findings, The Greek appears to be a military counterintelligence officer named Roman. In the messages, Demurchiev regularly refers to captured Ukrainian soldiers as “gifts” that he suggests sending to this contact.
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