In January, at least ten criminal cases were brought before the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don against Ukrainian nationals prosecuted under Russia’s ‘terrorism’ provisions

The defendants include residents of the Donetsk region: Lyubov Artyomova, aged 23; Aleksei Danilchenko, 75; Nikolai Lushkin, 31; and Anatolii Tyulyubaev, 24. They are charged under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code, among them participation in a terrorist community (Part 2, Article 205.4), the commission and preparation of a terrorist act (Article 205), and possession of explosives.

Nikolai Lushkin additionally faces a charge of espionage (Article 276). Anatolii Tyulyubaev is charged with high treason (Article 275). The case had previously been before the court and was returned to the prosecutor’s office. In its earlier form, the proceedings also encompassed Nina Danilchenko, 74, and Oleg Danilchenko, 55, the wife and son of Aleksei Danilchenko. They were reportedly released under travel restrictions in August or September 2025.

Separate proceedings concern Georgii Borzdov, 21, also from the Donetsk region. He is accused of attempting to join a terrorist organisation (Part 3, Article 30 in conjunction with Part 2, Article 205.5), attempted high treason, and desertion during active hostilities (Part 5, Article 338). His case had previously been brought before the court before being returned to the prosecutor. On that occasion he faced a charge of unauthorised abandonment of his unit (Article 337), an offence carrying a lesser penalty.

Two defendants are from Crimea. Sergei Tubolets, 49, faces nine counts under the article concerning the ‘public justification of terrorism on the Internet’ (Part 2, Article 205.2). Maksim Shtukar, 39, is to stand trial under the same provision and under Part 2 of Article 280, relating to public calls for extremist activity.

Further defendants are Aleksandr Stafiichuk, 50, and Artyom Vyshnyak, 25, from the Kiev region; Yaroslav Bezmenov, 42, and Yan Sergienko, 22, from Mariupol; and Vladislav Korol, 29, from Zaporozhye. They are charged with participation in a terrorist community and with undergoing terrorist training (Article 205.3). The charges derive from their service in the Azov unit, banned in the Russian Federation. Artyom Vyshnyak, Yaroslav Bezmenov and Yan Sergienko had previously received lengthy custodial sentences from the so-called ‘Supreme Court of the DPR’.

Khatidzhe Buyukhchan, a 25-year-old Crimean Tatar holding Ukrainian and Russian citizenship, was abducted on 7 May 2025. She faces charges of preparing a terrorist act, attempting to assemble an explosive device, possession of explosives and high treason. For more than two months thereafter she was held in an undisclosed location.

Within 15 working days in January, the court delivered verdicts in 27 additional cases involving Ukrainian nationals. Vitalii Trofimchuk and Denis Shevchenko, residents of the Zaporozhye region, were sentenced to five and a half and seven years’ imprisonment respectively in connection with online publications. Nine residents of Kherson received sentences ranging from 14 to 20 years in a strict-regime penal colony.