Russia seizes Ukrainian POWs, then it demands favors from their relatives
Russia is believed to be holding thousands of Ukrainian POWs. Russia is also tormenting the families of these prisoners by contacting their relatives on social media and demanding they help Russia.
A Ukrainian man born in 1999 was sentenced to eight years and six months in a maximum-security penal colony by the Pskov Regional Court. The court ruled that he had aided the enemy in activities against Russia’s security by sending money to foundations supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was also fined 500,000 rubles and his cellphone was seized.
The defendant, identified as Anton Demidenko, was arrested in July 2025, marking the first known case of using the new "aiding the enemy" law. Article 276.1, added to the Criminal Code in late 2024, criminalizes providing assistance to foreign states or organizations opposing Russia in armed conflicts. The minimum sentence for this law is ten years in prison, but Demidenko received a sentence below that minimum, the reason for which is unknown.
Written by urgent.news from Meduza (English)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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