Captured Aidar Battalion fighter Oleksii Mozharov sentenced in Russia to 17.5 years in prison
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced Oleksii Mozharov, a prisoner of war from the Aidar battalion, to 17 years and 6 months in a high-security penal colony. He will spend the first three years in prison.
Censor.NET reported this, citing Mediazona.
Mozharov was charged under Article 205.3 ("training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activity") and Part 2 of Article 205.5 ("participation in the activities of an organization designated as terrorist under Russian law") of the Russian Criminal Code. These are the standard charges Russian investigators bring against POWs from Ukraine’s Azov and Aidar units.
Mozharov, 43, is a native of Toretsk in Donetsk region and a vocational school graduate. His retired mother remains in Ukraine. According to the indictment, on June 1, 2024, Mozharov "voluntarily joined" Aidar. From June 5 to 10 he underwent training in Kramatorsk. Immediately afterward, on June 10, he was sent to the front line, and on June 14 he was captured near the village of Ivanivske in Donetsk region.
Testifying in court, the POW said he was conscripted in April 2024. On June 1, representatives of Aidar "took him" from the training center. In court, Mozharov repeatedly stated that he did not choose to serve in Aidar and did not even know where he would be assigned until he arrived at the unit. He participated in the proceedings via video link from Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1 in Luhansk.
