The Second Western District Military Court of the Russian Federation sentenced four Ukrainian soldiers who were named as members of a sabotage and intelligence group: Lt. Col. Andriy Antonenko was sentenced to 28 years in a high-security prison, Sergeant Oleksiy Mazurenko to 27 years, and Captain Andriy Kulish and Lieutenant Denys Tkachenko to 26 years in prison. This is reported by Russian mass media.
The Ukrainian military was accused of two terrorist attacks and three episodes of preparation for them. In addition, there were other, less serious charges in the case — in particular, illegal border crossing, smuggling, possession of explosives and firearms, as well as participation in a terrorist community.
According to the version of the investigation, a Ukrainian subversive group infiltrated the territory of the Russian Federation, where it mined railway tracks, power lines and oil storage facilities. In the summer of 2023, they allegedly placed drones near the Shaykovka military airfield in the Kaluga region, where long-range bombers are stationed. The military unit estimated the damage at 1,399,812 rubles and filed a civil lawsuit against the prisoners. The court satisfied him, obliging each of the four to pay fines from 1.7 to 2 million rubles.
Ukrainian soldiers were captured in Bryansk region on August 30, 2023. During the shootout, three members of the sabotage group were killed, and Andriy Antonenko and Andriy Kulish were wounded.
In their last words, the Ukrainian prisoners emphasized that they were acting by following the orders of their commanders and defending their own country. They emphasized that as a result of their actions, not a single Russian was killed or injured – neither civilian nor military.
Bringing prisoners of war to criminal liability only for the mere fact of participating in hostilities contradicts international law, in particular the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. However, Russian courts pass judgments on Ukrainian military personnel even in cases where war crimes are not involved — they are convicted for crossing the border (as happened to the soldiers captured in the Kursk region) or for participating in a terrorist organization.
As explained Yevhen Zakharov, director of the Kharkiv human rights group, since Russia officially calls the war a “special military operation”, it does not recognize our soldiers who were captured as prisoners of war.
