Russian Federation - October 2025

The investigative journalism outlet Verstka has identified 101 Russian military officers who have been involved in torturing, murdering or sending soldiers under their command who are considered disobedient on suicide missions.  Referred to as ‘zeroing out’ in the Russian military, Verstka reports its sources in the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office claim that there is an unstated ban on investigating such incidents while Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, and that the office has received almost 12,000 formal complaints related to ‘zeroing out’ since the war began. The scale of the findings indicates that the unofficial ban on investigations has led to the murder and torture of soldiers as a form of discipline to become normalized in combat positions. Another media outlet, Vot Tak, has separately confirmed more than half of Verstka’s findings. 

Sources: Verstka, Moscow Times, Vot Tak