A Russian court has sentenced a Ukrainian soldier to 15 years in prison under terrorism charges for fighting in Russia’s Kursk region.
Sergei Eremeyev, who served as a driver in Ukraine’s 22nd Mechanized Brigade, was captured in the Kursk region on Sept. 9, 2024, around a month after Kyiv launched a counteroffensive into the region following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s 2nd Western District Military Court has sentenced Eremeyev to 15 years’ imprisonment – with the first three years to be served in prison, followed by a penal colony – according to Russian state media TASS on Monday, April 21, citing the press service of Russia’s Main Military Prosecutor’s Office.
Russia’s Investigative Committee claimed Eremeyev was “accused of committing a terrorist act in the Kursk region” by “illegally [invading] the territory of the Russian Federation as part of units of the armed formations of Ukraine” in a Telegram update on Monday.
BBC Russia reported in December 2024 that two other Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the Kursk region, Ivan Dmitrakov and Vitaly Panchenko, were sentenced to 15 and 14 years in prison respectively under similar charges.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said in March that Ukrainian troops captured should be treated “as terrorists” but also “humanely in the future” upon his first visit to the region, more than half a year since Ukraine launched its Kursk incursion.
Soldiers who are officially part of the armed forces are considered lawful combatants under the Geneva Convention and thus are entitled to treatment as prisoners of war.
Lawful combatants cannot be prosecuted for merely participating in hostilities, including crossing into enemy territory or engaging in combat, as long as they comply with the laws of war.
Therefore, crossing the border into an enemy state is insufficient ground for persecution under terrorism charges under the Geneva Convention, as opposed to the claims made by Russia’s Investigative Committee.