The Military Court of the Southern District in Rostov-on-Don sentenced 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Aidar battalion to terms ranging from 15 to 21 years in a strict regime colony.
This was reported by the Russian publication Mediazona, citing the press service of the Military Court of the Southern District.
The Ukrainian servicemen were found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, the violent seizure of power, and undergoing training for terrorist purposes.
The sentences received by the Ukrainian soldiers are as follows:
- Dmytro Fedchenko – 15 years in a strict regime colony;
- Andriy Sholik, Vitaliy Krokhalov, and Vyacheslav Baiduk – 16 years in a strict regime colony;
- Volodymyr Makarenko and Ihor Gayokha – 18 years in a strict regime colony;
- Mykola Chupryna, Taras Radchenko, Semen Zabayrachny, Serhiy Nikitiuk, Oleksandr Tarants, and Vladyslav Yermolinsky – 20 years in a strict regime colony;
- Vitaliy Gruzinov, Roman Nedostup, and Serhiy Kalinchenko – 21 years in a strict regime colony.
Two women, doctors Lilia Prutyan and Marina Mishchenko, were also involved in this case, but they have already returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange. The charges against them have been separated into a separate case. The charges against Yevgeny Pyatigorsky have also been separated into a separate case, and the prosecution has not yet requested a sentence for him.
The charges against each of the prisoners were based solely on the fact that they served in the Aidar battalion: none of the defendants were charged with specific war crimes. The prosecution called the activities of not only regular Aidar soldiers, but also drivers and even medics “criminal,” since providing medical assistance to soldiers “ensured the combat capability of the unit and its readiness to perform its tasks.”
During the trial, the Ukrainians reported that they had been tortured during the investigation in the self-proclaimed DPR. In October 2024, the hearings in the case were completely closed to the public and the press, citing “wide resonance” and “threats to the participants in the process.”