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Russian Surgeons Who Branded “Glory to Russia” on Ukrainian Soldier Named in New Investigation
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Two Russian surgeons—Andrey Kryachko and Yuriy Kuznetsov—have been named as likely participants in the mutilation of a Ukrainian prisoner of war during surgery at a hospital in Russian-occupied Donetsk, according to an investigation by Schemes, a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The investigation by Schemes, published on January 20, 2026, is based on interviews, internal hospital records, metadata analysis, and border-crossing information. Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that the materials will be added to an active war crimes case.
The victim, Ukrainian soldier Andriy Pereverzev, was captured near Novomykhailivka in February 2024. After sustaining serious injuries from a grenade and tank fire, he was taken to the “Donetsk Clinical Territorial Medical Association” (DOCTMO), the largest hospital in the occupied territory, where he underwent emergency surgery.
When Pereverzev regained consciousness days later, he discovered the phrase “Glory to Russia” and the letter Z burned into his abdomen. According to Pereverzev, he overheard hospital staff saying the operation had been performed by a Russian doctor.
Medical experts interviewed by Schemes confirmed the markings were likely made during surgery using professional tools such as an electrocautery device or radio knife. They concluded that the patient must have been under deep anesthesia at the time, and that the inscription required deliberate effort and precision.
By cross-referencing social media posts, video metadata, and witness accounts, Schemes placed Kryachko and Kuznetsov at DOCTMO on February 24, 2024—the day Pereverzev was operated on. Images published that day by both doctors show them unloading supplies and posing with hospital leadership inside the surgical building.
Both doctors are part of a group known as “Friends of Donbas Medicine,” a collective of Russian volunteer surgeons who have frequently traveled to occupied Ukrainian territory since the full-scale invasion. The group was founded by Russian State Duma member and surgeon Bair Badma Bashankaev, who has also worked at DOCTMO.
Kryachko and Kuznetsov, both from Krasnodar, routinely performed surgeries during such visits. While Kuznetsov denied operating on Pereverzev in comments to Schemes, metadata from his Telegram posts and border-entry records contradicted his statements.
According to Ukrainian prosecutors, the incident constitutes a war crime under international law, as it involved the intentional infliction of suffering on a prisoner of war. “We are conducting a pre-trial investigation until those responsible are brought to justice,” said Taras Semkiv, head of the Department for Conflict-Related Crimes at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
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Additional hospital staff, including senior surgeons and nurses, were also identified in the investigation. Ukrainian dermatological surgeon Oleksandr Turkevych, who is now helping Pereverzev with scar removal, concluded the inscription was intentionally and professionally applied, stating: “This was not accidental. The entire surgical team would have been aware.”
Earlier, Ukraine’s SBU identified Illya Sorokin, a Russian prison medic nicknamed “Doctor Evil,” as a suspect in the torture of Ukrainian POWs. He allegedly used stun guns during exams and withheld medical aid. Sorokin has been charged with war crimes in absentia.
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