A Russian military court sentenced 23 Ukrainians who served with Azov to prison on the charges of "seizure of power" and participating in a "terrorist organization," the independent news outlet Mediazona reported on March 26.
Eleven were sentenced in absentia as they had been released in prisoner exchanges, while 12 prisoners of war (POW) still held in Russia have been jailed for between 13 and 23 years.
Ukraine denounced the trial as a Russian propaganda stunt, saying that international law prohibits trials with war captives and pledging to bring those sentenced back home.
The ruling comes as the conclusion of the so-called "Case of 24" that involved military personnel, cooks, and workers serving with Azov. They became Russia's captives after the Russian siege of Mariupol in 2022.
Only 12 of the prisoners were present at the trial:
- Oleksandr Mukhin - sentenced to 22 years
- Yaroslav Zhdamarov - 22 years
- Oleh Zharkov - 13 years
- Anatolii Hrytsyk - 13 years
- Oleksii Smykov - 13 years
- Oleh Mizhhorodskyi - 17 years
- Oleksandr Irkha - 15 years
- Artem Hrebeskhov - 20 years
- Artur Hretskyi - 22 years
- Oleksandr Merochenets - 22 years
- Oleh Tyshkul - 22 years
- Mykyta Tymonin - 22 years
Oleksandr Ishchenko, a 55-year-old driver, died in Russian captivity in July 2024. Nine women who served as cooks or support personnel were released in a prisoner exchange in September 2023, and two more soldiers were exchanged before the trial.
Russian prosecutors demanded sentences of 16 to 24 years for the 12 men present at the trial. All of them plan to appeal the sentence, Mediazona wrote.
Some of those sentenced reportedly complained about torture and poor conditions in the detention center during their final statements, while some refused to communicate or recognize the Russian court's authority.
Ukrainian prisoners of war are being subjected to rough conditions and systemic torture in Russia, according to POWs who have been returned through swaps.
Russia has held a number of sham trials with Ukrainian POWs over the past years, focusing on Azov fighters captured during the war.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 21 that Ukraine had returned 4,306 prisoners of war (POWs) from Russian captivity since the start of the full-scale invasion. Kyiv has also called for an all-for-all exchange of prisoners with Russia as part of ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire and a broader peace deal.
Oleg Sukhov
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