Former Ukrainian Soldiers in Russia Sentenced to 15 to 21 Years in Prison 0 9

According to "Mediazona", Judge Kirill Krivtsov of the Southern District Military Court issued a sentence to 15 captured fighters of the Aidar Battalion.

Dmitry Fedchenko received 15 years in a strict regime colony; Andrey Sholik, Vitaly Krohalyev, and Vyacheslav Baydyuk received 16 years each; Vladimir Makarenko and Igor Gayokha received 18 years each; Nikolai Chuprina, Taras Radchenko, Semyon Zabayrachny, Sergey Nikityuk, Alexander Taranets, and Vladislav Yermolinsky received 20 years each; Vitaly Gruzinov, Roman Nedostup, and Sergey Kalinchenko received 21 years each.

Two women were also involved in this case — medics Lilia Prutyana and Marina Mishchenko. They were returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange in September last year, and their cases were separated into a separate proceeding, the current status of which is unknown. The charges against Yevgeny Pyatigorets were also separated into a separate proceeding — the prosecution has not yet requested a sentence for him.

Most of the defendants were detained in March–April 2022 by Russian military personnel and representatives of the "DPR" — shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion in the territory of the Donetsk region, which was under Russian occupation, notes "Memorial". Initially, they were charged under the articles of the criminal code of the so-called "DPR", including part 4 of article 34 and article 323 ("Violent seizure of power and change of the constitutional order of the DPR, committed by an organized group"), which provides for up to 20 years of imprisonment or, "in wartime conditions", up to the death penalty. They were also charged under part 2 of article 234 ("Participation in the activities of a terrorist organization"), which carries a penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment.

In October 2022, the "DPR prosecution" announced the completion of the investigation and transferred the case to the Donetsk court. After the annexation of the "DPR" by Russia, the charges were requalified under the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and the defendants were transferred to Rostov-on-Don. The trial began on July 25, 2023, in the Southern District Military Court, presided over by Judge Krivtsov, who issued the sentences for the 15 men today.

According to "Mediazona", the charges against all the defendants were based solely on the fact of their service in the Aidar Battalion. They were not accused of specific war crimes. The investigation considered not only the activities of the military but also the drivers and medics of the battalion to be "criminal", asserting that providing medical assistance "ensured the combat capability of the unit and its readiness to perform combat tasks".

During the trial, the Ukrainians reported torture in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region (self-proclaimed "DPR").

The Aidar Battalion was one of dozens of volunteer battalions that emerged in Ukraine after the start of hostilities in 2014 against Russian-backed paramilitary groups that declared the establishment of self-proclaimed "republics" in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. These units were subsequently integrated into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The accused Ukrainians emphasized in court that they had contracted with the 24th Separate Assault Battalion of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, not with the Aidar Battalion, which was reformed in early March 2015.