A Russian court has sentenced a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), accusing them of involvement in the so-called Kursk Operation, according to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.
At least 3,767 Ukrainians, primarily military personnel, have been released from Russian captivity through prisoner exchanges. Many of them have reported severe torture and mistreatment during their detention.
Anatolii Voloshyn, Volodymyr Arshulyk, Serhii Karaiev, Oleksandr Doichuk, Zinovii Siherych, Andrian Kulbaba, and Oleh Vovk are among those sentenced. They have been found guilty of “committing acts of terrorism as a group by prior conspiracy, causing grave consequences.”
Russian authorities claim that the Ukrainian POWs “repeatedly opened fire on Russian servicemen and civilians, prohibited movement and phone use, and hindered evacuation efforts.”
The court sentenced the Ukrainian defenders to prison terms ranging from 15 to 16 years. The first three years of the sentence are to be served in prison, with the remainder in a high-security penal colony.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubynets revealed an increase in confirmed executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces in 2024.
The execution of POWs by the occupiers is reported as systemic, violating international law. Despite the evidence, the Kremlin denies these war crimes. In total, Ukraine has launched nearly 170,000 investigations into war crimes and national security violations since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
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