18 captured Aidar fighters on trial in Russia, face 20–24 years
In Russia’s Rostov-on-Don, 18 captured fighters from the Aidar battalion are on trial, facing between 20 and 24 years in prison.
Censor.NET reports this, citing Ukrinform.
The Ukrainian soldiers are accused of "participation in the activities of a terrorist organization, violent seizure of power, and undergoing training for terrorist purposes."
Russian prosecutors are seeking 20 years in a maximum-security penal colony for Andrii Sholik, Dmytro Fedchenko, Vitalii Hruzinov, Serhii Nikitiuk, and Vitalii Krokhalev.
For Viacheslav Baidiuk, the prosecution is demanding 21 years in a maximum-security colony, while Mykola Chupryna, Oleksandr Taranets, Roman Nedostup, Volodymyr Makarenko, and Vladyslav Yermolynskyi face 23 years. Taras Radchenko, Semen Zabairachnyi, Ihor Haiokha, and Serhii Kalinchenko are facing 24 years.
The Russian Prosecutor’s Office has also requested that each convict spend the first six years of their sentence in prison before being transferred to a maximum-security colony.
It is noted that two women, Liliia Prutian and Maryna Mishchenko, were also involved in the case but have since returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange.
A separate proceeding has been opened against Yevhen Piatyhoretz, for whom prosecutors have not yet requested a specific sentence.
During the trial, the Ukrainian defendants reported being tortured during the "investigation" on the territory of the self-proclaimed "DPR." In October 2024, the court hearings in the case were fully closed to the public and the press, citing "broad public resonance" and "threats to the participants in the proceedings."
