Court sentences Uzbek man for joining Russia-Ukraine war

On 5 November, the Kattakurgan District Criminal Court heard the case against Q.Y., who was charged under Article 154, Part 1 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code, which prohibits involvement in foreign military conflicts.

According to court documents, the defendant had travelled to Moscow in November 2021 for work. In December that year, he was arrested and later convicted under Article 228 of Russia’s Criminal Code for illegal drug trafficking. He received a nine-year prison sentence and was serving his term at Penal Colony No. 5 in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region.

In January 2025, while still in custody, officials from Russia’s Ministry of Defense allegedly offered him early release, housing, Russian citizenship, and a payment of 1.8 million rubles if he agreed to join Russia’s military efforts in the war against Ukraine. Q.Y. accepted the offer and was subsequently recruited into Military Unit No. 41450 of the Russian Armed Forces, serving in the 106th Division, 137th Regiment.

From 18 January until mid-February 2025, he underwent military training in the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk before being deployed to the city of Kursk, where he took part in combat operations against Ukraine.

He returned to Uzbekistan on 27 July 2025, where authorities later identified his involvement in the conflict.

The court found him guilty of participating in military activities on foreign soil and sentenced him to four years of restricted freedom in line with Article 154, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, applying the provisions of Article 57.