The court in the Russian Federation sentenced a Ukrainian who searched for his mother in an occupied village.

A Ukrainian, Ivan Zabavskyi, was sentenced by a court in St. Petersburg to 11 years in a strict regime for espionage. This information was provided by the publication 'Mediazona'.

The Ukrainian was arrested in June 2023. He lived in Kharkiv and worked in a cafe. After the invasion of Russia into Kharkiv region, his mother, Marina Zabavska, remained in the village of Tavilzhanka in the Kupiansk district. As a result of shelling, her sister died in September 2023. When the Russian troops approached the village, Marina decided to move to Russia.

During his stay in Tavilzhanka, Zabavskyi was unable to contact his mother. To find her, he drove to the village in a truck with humanitarian aid, as other vehicles were not allowed into the frontline zone. After this, he disappeared, and the village came under Russian occupation. Neighbors informed Marina that Russian soldiers had detained her son.

Only in May 2023 did Marina learn from the Russian Ministry of Defense that her son was on the territory of Russia and had been detained 'for opposing the special military operation'.

The trial on the espionage charges began in the summer of 2024 and was held behind closed doors, so the details of the charges remain unknown. The prosecutor demanded 13 years of imprisonment for the Ukrainian.

Other cases of sentencing Ukrainians

Earlier in Moscow, a court illegally sentenced seven Ukrainian prisoners of war to prison terms ranging from 15 to 16 years for their participation in offensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kursk.

Also, in occupied Donetsk region, Russians sentenced servicemen of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who defended Mariupol at the beginning of the invasion.