Members of the Azov Brigade Imprisoned in Russia Face Up to 24 Years in Prison

On August 21, the prosecutor’s office of Rostov Military Court requested prison sentences of up to 24 years for Ukrainian prisoners of war currently held in Rostov-on-Don’s detention center, in Russia.

The case involves 24 Ukrainians who served in the Azov Brigade at different times, either under contract or as civilian employees. Some participated in the defense of Mariupol and Azovstal, while others were detained at home or during “filtration” operations after they had already left the service.

Two of the accused, David Kasatkin and Dmitry Labinsky, have been tried in absentia following their exchange for Russian prisoners of war, as reported by a Russian media outlet Mediazona correspondent from the Southern District Military Court.

For nine women, most of whom served as cooks in the Azov Brigade, the prosecutor has requested sentences ranging from 16 to 19 years in a general regime penal colony, due to the lack of strict regime colonies for women in Russia.

The men face harsher sentences, with the prosecutor seeking 16 to 24 years in a strict regime penal colony, with the initial years to be served in prison.

The charges against all 24 Ukrainians include actions aimed at the violent seizure of power, participation in a terrorist organization, and undergoing training for terrorist activities. The prosecutor’s office asserts that all the defendants were members of the Azov regiment and held “pro-Ukrainian radical views” while expressing “a negative attitude towards the Russian-speaking population.”

The criminal case was initially opened on the territory of the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, with the accused held in a pre-trial detention center in Donetsk. In September 2022, the case was transferred to a local court, which after several months of hearings, redirected it to the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don.

The trial of the Ukrainian prisoners began on July 19, 2023, overseen by a panel of three federal judges, chaired by Judge Vyacheslav Korsakov.