Ukrainian prisoner of war sentenced to 18 years in Russian prison

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced Ukrainian prisoner of war Vladyslav Plakhotnyk to 18 years in prison in Rostov Oblast of the Russian Federation. Source: Nastoyashcheye Vremya, Rostov Oblast Prosecutor's Office Details: Plakhotnyk was found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Article 205.5, paragraph 2 of the Russian Criminal Code) and undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities (Article 205.3 of the Russian Criminal Code).

The prosecutor's office stated that in July 2023, 18-year-old Plakhotnyk voluntarily signed a contract for military service in the Azov battalion, after which he was sent to the training centre of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and subsequently took part in hostilities in Luhansk Oblast.

The Russian court sentenced Plakhotnyk to 18 years in prison, with the first 3 years in prison and the rest in a strict regime penal colony. The sentence has not entered into force. Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii, citing Verstka, noted that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian courts in the occupied territories have passed more than 160 sentences on Ukrainian military personnel.

The average sentence imposed on Ukrainian defendants is 21 years.

The minimum sentence handed down to Ukrainian servicemen is eight years in a penal colony.

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