Denis Tkachenko

In 2025, the 2nd Western District Military Court in Russia considered the case of four Ukrainian servicemen accused of organising and carrying out acts of sabotage on Russian territory. The investigation charged them with blowing up railway tracks, power lines, and oil depots, as well as conducting reconnaissance near a military airfield. The defence argued that the accused were active military personnel and therefore should be considered prisoners of war rather than terrorists. Despite these arguments, all defendants were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in strict-regime penal colonies – from 26 to 28 years.