The investigative projects “Schemes” and “Systema” have published findings based on an archive of personal messages belonging to Russian military officer Roman Demurchiev. Journalists say messages from 2022–2024 show the major general sharing with colleagues and relatives descriptions of torture and extrajudicial killings, along with photos and videos that appear to corroborate the accounts.
Demurchiev took part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, by late December 2024, held the position of deputy commander of Russia’s 20th Combined Arms Army, according to the archive and the outlets’ sources. There is no public information about his current posting.
The reporters say they verified the authenticity of the correspondence, identified several interlocutors, and reconstructed the context of events mentioned. The publication includes excerpts in which Demurchiev writes about shooting prisoners, discusses their “disposal” with a presumed military counterintelligence officer, and forwards images and videos of abuse.
In one episode described by the investigation, former convicts allegedly killed Ukrainian soldiers with entrenching shovels after the troops had surrendered. Demurchiev reports the incident to his direct superior, Oleg Mityayev, commander of the 20th Army. In the messages published by the outlets, Mityayev appears to praise subordinates and suggests recommending them for awards: “The cons who took the position chopped [them] with shovels, God willing they survive; be sure to submit them for awards. Keep squeezing, well done. … Well done, crush them, crush the bastards, f***.”
In another message, Demurchiev sent his wife, Alexandra, a photo of severed human ears on a string.
— And then what do you do with them? she asks.
— I’ll make a garland and give it as a gift.
— Like pig ears for beer.
— Yeah.
Journalists could not determine whose ears they were, but the messages suggest Demurchiev had them in 2022.
A separate part of the investigation focuses on Demurchiev’s exchanges with a contact saved in his phone as “Greek.” Context and the reporters’ findings indicate he is a military counterintelligence officer named Roman. In the messages, the general regularly calls captured Ukrainian soldiers “gifts” and offers to transfer them to the contact.
In October 2023, Demurchiev writes:
“I’ve got one prisoner, … I can gift him to you. He’s sitting over there, in a pit. … What should I do with him—dispose of him or hand him over to you?”
“Greek” agrees to take the captive. Demurchiev replies:
“We just didn’t have time to torture him, so the info is on friendly terms… But you guys have a f***load of time; you can hook up various tools that make a person tell the truth.”
According to “Schemes,” the photo of the captive and an interrogation protocol the two men exchanged helped identify him as a volunteer from Zaporizhzhia who was 40 at the time of capture. He spent one year and ten months in Russian captivity and, sources say, was held at a pretrial detention facility in Altai. He was exchanged in the summer of 2025. Through relatives, he told journalists he was not ready to speak publicly about what he endured but said he was beaten and subjected to electric shocks.
The messages suggest he was not the only one captured then. After handing one serviceman to the counterintelligence officer, Demurchiev writes: “There was another one. Didn’t make it. Little b*****d.” “Greek” responds: “Correct. I’m personally for disposal. Otherwise we won’t defeat them.”
In another exchange, in August 2023, it is “Greek” who proposes transferring several detainees to the general—people who “can’t be put through a formal process”—to use them as “trench diggers” and then “leave them there. Forever.” He asks that “tight-lipped” people be brought in so other counterintelligence staff won’t learn of the plan. Demurchiev agrees. In the same thread, he discusses sending “Greek” black caviar “as a gift.”
The investigation details an episode from October 2022 involving the capture of Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk region. On October 20, Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced that the “Zapad-Akhmat” battalion had taken Ukrainian servicemen prisoner, emphasizing the participation of his underage sons—Akhmat, Eli and Adam. By cross-checking videos posted at the time with Demurchiev’s messages, journalists conclude the captives may be the same people. According to the archive, units of the 42nd Division, which Demurchiev commanded, seized the strongpoint and detained the soldiers on October 18—two days before Kadyrov’s post.
In private messages, Demurchiev speaks harshly and skeptically about Chechen units. Responding to Kadyrov’s post about the captives and his sons’ role, he wrote: “What roosters!!!” using a derogatory slur. In other messages published by the investigators, the general criticizes “Akhmat” fighters, accusing them of showboating and inflating their achievements.
A year later, in November 2023, Demurchiev received the Akhmat Kadyrov Order from Kadyrov. He describes the medal as “gold, with diamonds,” and after the ceremony advises a subordinate “not to offend the Chechens” and to equip them, adding that it could help secure the title Hero of Chechnya.
Demurchiev answered a call from a “Schemes” correspondent but hung up after hearing a question about the treatment of POWs. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to the outlets’ request for comment.
