In the last week alone, Russian occupation ‘courts’ passed sentences of 12 or 13 years against at least three Ukrainians living on occupied territory, with the charge sounding identical in all cases. During the same week, a Russian court confirmed a monstrous 12.5-year sentence against 66-year-old pensioner Iryna Sukhovei, and announced the ‘trial’ of a 56-year-old woman from occupied Berdiansk. In both cases, the women were accused only of modest donations to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, with Russia claiming this to constitute ‘state treason’ against the occupying state.
Roman Riabchyk
As in all such cases, Roman Riabchyk (b. 14.04.1986) was accused of having gathered and passed on the coordinates of the Russian military personnel and technology illegally deployed in occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast. He was charged under Article 276 of Russia’s criminal code (‘spying’), but was also accused of something called ‘public calls to extremist activities’, under Article 280 § 2). This was, seemingly, over posts in pro-Ukrainian groups on Facebook in which he “called to action against Russian military” (i.e. those who had invaded his country)
Roman was 38 when he was abducted by the Russians from Melitopol on 24 August 2024. He was held, incommunicado, without any court order or charges, for over nine months, with the Russians only bringing charges on 29 May 2025. Such periods where a person is deprived of all his rights, and where Russia has not admitted to holding him, are typically used to fabricate charges, most often by torturing out ‘confessions’.
On 21 July 2025, two months after admitting to Riabchyk’s imprisonment, Russia demonstrated its customary disregard for the presumption of innocence by adding his name to its notorious ‘Register of terrorists and extremists’.
Then, on 16 July 2026, the occupation ‘Zaporizhzhia regional court’ sentenced Riabchyk to 13 years’ maximum-security imprisonment. The sentence was presumably handed down that day, however there is no information about the supposed ‘trial’, how many hearings there were, whether Riabchyk had a lawyer, and who the ‘judge’ was. All of these ‘trials’ are held behind closed doors.
The ‘court press service’ is doubtless quoting the indictment when it asserts that Riabchyk (identified only as ‘R’ and by year of birth) that in 2022, Riabchyk “not supporting the actions of the Russian Federation, decided to help Ukrainian military servicemen.” He purportedly used Facebook to contact a friend who had earlier defended Donbas, and had moved to government-controlled Ukraine and joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Riabchyk allegedly offered to “gather and send the coordinates for places of deployment of Russian army military technology and personal on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia oblast.” He did so, the report says, knowing that the information could result in them being targeted by Ukrainian fire. He was also claimed to have posted on Facebook “calls to kill Russian soldiers and citizens of Russia.” There is never any information about the actual posts, however expressing support for the elimination of Russian invaders of Riabchyk’s country can scarcely be labelled ‘extremism’. The same is true of those “Russian citizens”, who would have been brought in by the aggressor state for posts within the occupation regime. The report does say that Riabchyk took Russian citizenship in March 2024. Since such citizenship, which Russia essentially forces on people, normally means that the person is charged with ‘treason (through spying)’ under Article 275, the alleged ‘spying’ was presumably claimed to have been in 2022 or 2023.
The sentence (of 13 years’ in a maximum-security prison colony and a further one year of restricted liberty) can still be appealed and presumably will be as there is no suggestion that he admitted the charges.
Anatoliy Ulanov
The same occupation ‘court’ reported on 17 July that it had sentenced a Tokmak resident (b. 1972) to 12 years in a maximum-security prison colony and a further year’s restriction of liberty on ‘treason’ charges (Article 275). Although identified only as ‘U’, and by year of birth, it is likely that the person is 52-year-old Anatoliy Ulanov. The Memorial Support for Political Prisoners Project reports that Ulanov has Group III Disability status and suffers from rheumatoid arthritis in the spine and hip joint.
Ulanov allegedly left a comment on a pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel, mentioning that there was a lot of Russian military technology in occupied Tokmak. Another participant in the Telegram chat asked him for exact coordinates, which he gave of places of deployment of Russian military personnel and technology. The report continues with a sentence copy-pasted from one such case to another, namely that the information could have been used for strikes and “against the security of the RF”
Russia is an occupying state and, as such, is prohibited from applying its legislation on occupied territory. The fact that it is forcing Ukrainians to take Russian citizenship does not change the basic illegally of any such ‘trial’, even were there any chance that this was a real ‘trial’, and not a cynical imitation. Ukrainians are in immense danger on occupied territory, and it is, unfortunately, possible that the follow-up request, to provide exact coordinates, was by a Russian who had infiltrated such pro-Ukrainian channels.
Artur Didenko
36-year-old Artur Didenko from occupied Skadovsk (Kherson oblast) was also sentenced to 13 years’ maximum-security imprisonment on ‘treason’ charges (Article 275). He was claimed to have been in contact with a representative of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence and to have passed him information about places of deployment of Russian military personnel and technology. He purportedly passed on such information in April 2025. Here too the sentence about it being used for Ukrainian strikes and “against the security of the RF.”
The sentence was passed by the occupation ‘Kherson regional court’, with the 13 year maximum-security term to be followed by 18 months’ restricted liberty. A fine of 350 thousand roubles was also added.
Iryna Sukhovei (b.04.07.1960) was sentenced in December by the same illegitimate ‘Zaporizhzhia regional court’ to 12.5 years’ imprisonment on ‘treason’ charges, for donations equivalent to around 11 euros to Ukraine’s Armed Forces. That horrific sentence was upheld on 6 July 2026 by ‘judge’ Alexander Pushkin from Russia’s First court of appeal.
The most recent such sentence for donations was passed by the same fake ‘court’ on 15 July against 63-year-old Vitaliy Ilyin.
