Russia pushing for long prison terms for 18 Aidar soldiers

According to Mediazona, cited by Ukrinform, the Ukrainian servicemen are accused of "participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, seizing power by force, and undergoing training for terrorist purposes."

The prosecution asked the court to sentence Andrii Sholik, Dmytro Fedchenko, Vitalii Hruzinov, Serhii Nikitiuk, and Vitalii Krokhalev to 20 years in a high-security colony.

For Viacheslav Baidiuk, the prosecutor requested 21 years. Mykola Chupryn, Oleksandr Taranets, Roman Nedostup, Volodymyr Makarenko, and Vladyslav Yermolynskyi were each to receive 23 years. Taras Radchenko, Semen Zabayrachnyi, Ihor Haiokha, and Serhii Kalinchenko faced the harshest demand -- 24 years in a high-security colony.

The prosecutor also insisted that during the first six years of their sentences, each defendant should serve time in prison before being transferred to a penal colony.

The case originally included two women -- Liliia Prutian and Maryna Mishchenko -- who have since returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange.

A separate case was opened against Yevhen Piatyhorets, for whom prosecutors have not yet requested a specific sentence.

According to the outlet, the Ukrainian prisoners reported torture during the "investigation" conducted in the territory of the self-proclaimed "DNR." In October 2024, the court closed the hearings entirely to the public and press, citing "widespread public attention" and "threats to participants in the trial."

Photo: Aleksandr Astakhov / Mediazona