The City Court of St. Petersburg sentenced Ukrainian Ivan Zabavsky to 11 years in a strict regime colony on charges of “espionage”. This is reported by the Russian media zona.media, citing the materials of the hearing.
Ivan Zabavsky, a resident of Kharkiv, disappeared in September 2022 in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kharkiv region. He went to the village of Tavilzhanka to evacuate his mother, Marina, who remained there under occupation. According to local residents, Zabavsky was detained by the Russian military.
In May 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense informed his mother that her son was being held in Russia for allegedly “counteracting a special military operation.” The trial against Zabavsky began in 2024 and was held behind closed doors.
Russian prosecutors demanded 13 years in prison.