A Russian court has sentenced Mykola Shcherbatov, a captured Azov fighter, for the second time

The Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation has handed down a second sentence to Mykola Shcherbatov, a captured Ukrainian soldier from the “Azov” battalion. The Russian court sentenced him to a total of 29 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.

According to Russian authorities, 55-year-old Mykola Shcherbatov was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 205.4 and Article 205.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. 

He was accused of “participating in a terrorist group” and “undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities.”

“Free Radio” reported on the new sentence, which a Russian court handed down in late September, citing the so-called “DPR Prosecutor’s Office.”

According to the Russian side, in 2018 Shcherbatov joined the “Azov” regiment and, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, took part in combat operations against Russian troops.

In May 2022, Mykola Shcherbatov was taken prisoner by Russian forces.

This is the second conviction of a Ukrainian serviceman. The first Russian court handed down its verdict in 2024. At that time, Mykola Shcherbatov, along with six other Azov fighters, was accused of allegedly shelling residential buildings and public facilities in Mariupol in February–March 2022.

The Russian side claimed that the Ukrainian servicemen, acting on orders from a superior officer, fired at least 500 rounds from a D-30 howitzer. According to the occupiers, this resulted in damage to five residential buildings, though no civilians were reportedly harmed.

At that time, Mykola Shcherbatov and six other Ukrainian servicemen were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 26 to 27 years.

Russian courts systematically hear cases against captured Ukrainian soldiers from the “Azov” unit. Russia has designated “Azov” as a “terrorist organization,” but Ukraine does not recognize this classification.

The new sentence handed down to Mykola Shcherbatov is yet another instance in which a Russian court has imposed a lengthy prison term on a Ukrainian prisoner of war under articles of Russian law.

At the same time, the charges brought by the Russian side represent the position of the occupying and Russian authorities, not a fact established by a Ukrainian court.

This was reported by “Free Radio,” citing the so-called “DPR Prosecutor’s Office.” 

Earlier, the 2nd Eastern District Military Court sentenced Kateryna Malovechkina, a resident of Krasnokamensk, to 24 years in a general-regime penal colony. She was found guilty of high treason, sabotage, participation in a terrorist organization, illegal manufacture and storage of explosives, and money laundering.

Previously, a Russian court sentenced Olga Denisova, a 39-year-old resident of the Donetsk region, to five years in a penal colony. The woman was found guilty of allegedly aiding and abetting participation in a “terrorist community” through her work as a laundress at a military unit where the “Azov” battalion was based.

In Russia, an aggressor state, Mykola Zuziev, a citizen of Canada and Russia, was sentenced to seven years in prison for treason.