A Russian man who the Federal Security Service (FSB) says planned to fight for Ukraine was sentenced on Wednesday to four years and eight months in jail.
Sergey Ulukshonov, a 30-year-old resident of the city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, was sentenced by a regional court, pro-Kremlin news outlet Kommersant reported.
He was accused of planning to join Ukraine's armed forces and fight against Russia in the ongoing conflict that began when President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Ulukshonov was found guilty of preparing to participate in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state. In court documents, he is accused of sharing "Nazi views"—Putin in justifying his attack on Ukraine said he was seeking to "de-nazify" the country.
The 30-year-old was accused of studying "pro-Ukrainian websites" in the spring of 2022 and of communicating with the Ukrainian side.
According to Kommersant, on April 3 Ulukshonov was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, which borders Ukraine. He allegedly phoned a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine, who explained to him how to illegally cross the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Ulukshonov was subsequently detained on April 8 by Belarusian border guards, who handed him over to the FSB.
Court documents describe him as "an ardent opponent of the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation."
According to Kommersant, Ulukshonov pleaded guilty.
On Tuesday, a Russian man was detained by the FSB at the Krasnoyarsk airport, accused of attempting to leave Russia and join Ukraine's armed forces.
FSB spokespeople told Russia's state-run news agencies Interfax and RIA Novosti that the man, who is a resident of Abakan in the Russian Federation's Republic of Khakassia, is accused of attempted treason.
The security agency said the man wanted to join the Ukrainian armed forces in a bid to participate in hostilities.
The FSB said he had previously "committed acts of vandalism against administrative buildings" in Khakassia, and had been prosecuted in a vandalism case.
In July Putin signed a law that equates defection to high treason, with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
