01 Jul, 2024

Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Aidar battalion are political prisoners

Eighteen Ukrainian military service personnel, including two women, are being tried on charges of participating in a terrorist organisation and attempted violent seizure of power

The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers the following 18 Ukrainian POWs to be political prisoners: Ihor Hayokha, Vitalii Hruzinov, Vladyslav Yermolinskyi, Semen Zabairakovyi. Serhii Kalinchenko, Volodymyr Makarenko, Roman Nedostupa, Serhii Nikitiuk, Taras Radchenko, Oleksandr Taranets, Mykola Chupryna, Viacheslav Baiduk, Vitaliy Krokhalov, Yevhen Piatyhorets, Dmytro Fedchenko, Andrii Sholik, Maryna Mishchenko and Liliia Prutian. All eighteen are being prosecuted on charges of participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation and violent seizure of power; some are also being prosecuted on a charge of training in terrorist activities. Their criminal prosecution violates their right to fair trial as well as the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. We demand that the criminal prosecution of prisoners of war be stopped, their allegations of torture investigated, and those responsible be brought to justice.

What are the charges brought against the Ukrainian POWs from the Aidar battalion?

All defendants in the criminal case served in various roles in the Aidar 24th Separate Assault Battalion in 2019-22. This battalion of the Ukrainian armed forces was created in 2015 on the basis of a volunteer formation of the same name. Most of the defendants were detained by the Russian military and by the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic [DNR] in March and April 2022, shortly after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Until July 2023, POWs from the Aidar battalion were in the custody of the DNR and likely tortured. Following the annexation of the DNR by Russia, the POWs were taken to Rostov-on-Don and charged with offences under the Russian Criminal Code.

Seven of the defendants – Baiduk, Krokhalov, Mishchenko, Prutian, Piatyhorets, Fedchenko, and Sholik – are being tried on just two charges: participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Article 205.5, Part 2, of the Russian Criminal Code) and violent seizure of power (Article 278). If convicted, they face up to 30 years’ imprisonment.

The eleven other defendants – Hayokha, Hruzinov, Yermolinskyi, Zabairakovyi. Kalinchenko, Makarenko, Nedostupa, Nikitiuk, Radchenko, Taranets, and Chupryna – face the additional charge of undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activity (Article 205.3). If convicted, they face life imprisonment.

Since July 2023, Russia’s Southern District Military Court has been hearing the trial.

Why do we consider the military service personnel from the Aidar Battalion political prisoners?

None of the accused are being tried for specific war crimes. They are all being tried for the very fact of serving in the Ukrainian armed forces. This grossly violates the provisions of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the prosecution of prisoners of war solely for their participation in an armed conflict.

In addition, the prosecution of the military personnel of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion of the Ukrainian armed forces for terrorist offences has no basis in law, even from a formal standpoint. The decision of the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed DNR in 2016 to designate the Aidar Battalion as terrorist referred not to the unit of the Ukrainian army, but to the volunteer battalion of the same name disbanded in 2015. The decision of Russia’s Southern District Military Court to declare Aidar a terrorist group was adopted in September 2023 after the defendants had already been detained. It can have no retroactive effect.

The charge of violent seizure of power is unlawful and absurd. The so-called DNR emerged in 2014 as a result of an armed seizure of power on part of Ukrainian territory with direct Russian support. The participation in combat operations of soldiers from the Aidar Volunteer Battalion, or from the 24th Separate Assault Battalion of the Ukrainian armed forces of the same name, in order to restore constitutional order on the territory of Ukraine and repel Russian military aggression is legitimate under Ukrainian and international law.

There is no evidence of a crime. This is a show trial of Ukrainian military service personnel who participated in repelling Russian aggression as members of the Ukrainian armed forces.

A detailed description of the case and of our position is available on our website.

Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.

How can you help?

You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.