Russia Sentences 23 Ukrainian Prisoners of War: They Were Given Long Sentences

Some Ukrainian prisoners simply did not live to see trial.

A military court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, sentenced 23 Ukrainian prisoners of war who served in the Azov Regiment to imprisonment in a maximum-security colony. In particular, 12 people received real terms from 13 to 23 years, the others – in absentia.

One of the prisoners fell ill during the trial

“The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Ukrainian prisoners of war who served in the Azov Regiment at different times to real terms of imprisonment in a maximum-security colony,” the article says.

According to the publication, three judges, chaired by Vyacheslav Korsakov, handed down sentences for the Ukrainian prisoners of war: Yaroslav Zhdamarov, Oleksandr Merochenets, Mykyta Tymonin, Oleksandr Mukhin, Oleh Tishkul and Artur Gretskyi received 22 years in a strict regime colony each; Oleksandr Irkh and Artem Grebeshkov – 20 years each; Oleh Myzhgorodskyi – 17 years; Oleh Zharkov – 13 years; Anatoliy Hrytsyk – 19 years; Oleksiy Smykov – 23 years. They all plan to appeal the sentence.

The men were brought to court in shackles. Before the verdict was announced, Oleh Zharkov felt unwell, and an ambulance was called for him due to stomach pain.

Eleven people received sentences in absentia, as they had already returned to Ukraine as part of the exchange. Davyd Kasatkin and Dmytro Labinskyi were sentenced to 23 years in a strict regime colony each.

Nine women who worked as military cooks were sentenced in absentia to a general regime colony. Their terms range from 13 to 14 years. The women were exchanged in September 2024.

All prisoners were abused in the pre-trial detention center

The prosecutor demanded different terms of imprisonment for each, from 13 to 24 years, depending on the charge. The case of the deceased in the pre-trial detention center, Alexander Ishchenko, was closed, so he was not sentenced.

In court, the defendants repeatedly claimed that their testimonies were falsified, interrogations without lawyers, humiliating treatment, denial of medical care, and torture.

“I saw bags on our heads, wires on various body parts, broken ribs, bruised kidneys…no medical care…twice a year we went to the shower – we came out dirtier than we came in, and also beaten,” said Mykyta Tymonin in his closing statement.

Unfortunately, this is far from the first prison sentences that the Russian Federation has given to our defenders. For example, Ukrainian human rights activist and military man Maksym Butkevych was returned from Russian captivity on October 18, 2024, after he was sentenced by a court in the Russian Federation. Butkevych, who fought in eastern Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fell into Russian captivity in the summer of 2022. In March 2023, the so-called “court” of the “LPR” sentenced the human rights activist to 13 years in prison, writes Ukrainka Pravda.

On January 14, the 2nd Western District Military Court of Moscow sentenced seven captured Ukrainians who participated in the Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. The servicemen received prison terms ranging from 15 to 16 years.