Artem Kushakov — a Ukrainian citizen and serviceman of the Azov Special Operations Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. He was captured in Donetsk Oblast in spring 2022.
On December 22, 2025, Kushakov’s case was transferred to the Southern District Military Court.
On July 13, 2026, Artem Kushakov was added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of extremists and terrorists.
On February 17, 2026, Judge Oleg Dmitrievich Terentyev found Artem Kushakov guilty under Part 2 of Article 205.4 of the Russian Criminal Code (“Participation in the activities of a terrorist community”) and Article 205.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (“Undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities”) and sentenced him to 19 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
On July 6, 2026, Judge Marina Viktorovna Ushakova of the Military Court of Appeal upheld the sentence.
According to the prosecution, “in October 2020, Kushakov voluntarily signed a contract and was enlisted in the ‘Azov’ regiment... He underwent training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities at training bases. After that, as a member of the artillery battalion of the separate special-purpose unit ‘Azov,’ he participated in combat operations in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic against servicemen of the Russian Federation and the civilian population.”
