Twelve years for ‘treason’ against a foreign state, and thirteen for a bus stop inscription
Dmytro Hnatenko, a resident of Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast, used his phone on 5 March 2022 to film a column of ‘LNR’ troops occupying his village, later sending the footage to an SBU chatbot. Arrested six weeks later, he was sentenced that autumn to 12 years under the ‘LNR’ treason article; the authorities of this quasi-state consider all residents of Luhansk Oblast to be their own citizens. The conviction was subsequently reclassified as treason against the Russian Federation, despite the fact that Dmytro Hnatenko does not hold Russian citizenship.
Dmytro Orlov, a Ukrainian who moved to Russia after 2014 and obtained Russian citizenship, publicly condemned the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While his mother and grandmother remained in Ukraine, the latter was killed in an attack in 2023. Shortly after her death, Dmytro Orlov posted several emotional comments on Telegram suggesting that, following the collapse of Putinism, all those involved in the war and their relatives should be executed. Charged with incitement to terrorism, he was sentenced in August 2025 to three years in a penal colony.
Davyd Volodin, from Tula, was detained in 2025 on treason charges. He was accused of transferring 1,200 roubles in cryptocurrency to an account allegedly used by ‘representatives of Ukrainian intelligence services and the Armed Forces of Ukraine to purchase weapons, radios, uniforms, and other equipment’. In January 2026, he was sentenced to 12 and a half years in a strict-regime colony.
Sergei Veselov, of Elektrostal near Moscow, filled out a form via a bot purportedly linked to the ‘Freedom of Russia’ Legion. He was later contacted by an individual posing as a Legion handler. Under instruction, Sergey Veselov wrote ‘Russian army losses killed ~ 500,000’ on a bus stop board, photographed the inscription, and sent it back. Two weeks later, in March 2024, he was arrested for vandalism, spreading ‘false information’ about the military, and participation in a terrorist organisation. In May 2025, he was sentenced to 13 years in a strict-regime colony.
Dmitry Mikheev, from Irkutsk Oblast, was arrested in January 2023. He stood accused of setting fire to a military recruitment office on the instructions of the ‘Freedom of Russia’ Legion and transferring 6,000 roubles in cryptocurrency to the group. Tried for a terrorist act, training in terrorism, and treason, he was sentenced in July 2025 to 17 years and nine months in a strict-regime colony.
Sergei Fomov, from Chelyabinsk, was arrested in August 2024. Two Telegram comments, one calling for Vladimir Putin to be hanged, the other expressing approval of the Russian Volunteer Corps, led to charges of incitement to terrorism. In August 2025, he was sentenced to six years in a penal colony.
Anatoly Prilepa, of Krasnodar, was detained in June 2024. Investigators alleged he intended to travel to Donetsk to meet a representative of the Russian Volunteer Corps before proceeding to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Charged with preparation for treason and participation in a terrorist organisation, Anatoly Prilepa was sentenced to nine years in a strict-regime colony.
Galina Filchenko, a former municipal deputy in Moscow for the Yabloko party between 2017 and 2022, focused her work on social policies. In 2022, she participated in the ‘Congress of People’s Deputies’ organised by Ilya Ponomarev, where she assisted in drafting legislation on local self-government. In March 2026, Galina Filchenko was arrested on charges of participation in a terrorist community and the violent seizure of power.
Vera Yegorenkova, from Oryol, operated ‘trash streams’ under the pseudonym ‘Golubka’. During a 2024 broadcast, she spat on an image of ‘The Motherland Calls’ monument. Following a complaint by Ekaterina Mizulina, a criminal case was opened for the desecration of symbols of military glory and insulting the memory of defenders of the Fatherland. In August 2025, she was sentenced to two years of compulsory labour.
You can read more about these cases, including addresses to write to the political prisoners, in our full report.
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