Uzbek citizen sentenced to three years for fighting in Ukraine following imprisonment in Russia

According to the court findings, the defendant, identified as A.Kh., left for Russia in 2019 to work. In 2021, he was convicted in Russia for illegal drug trafficking and sent to a high-security correctional facility in the Chelyabinsk region.

While serving his sentence in 2024, A.Kh. was offered by Russian law enforcement officials to participate in the war against Ukraine in exchange for his release, Russian citizenship and financial compensation. He agreed to the proposal, was released from prison and underwent military training in Luhansk.

Subsequently, he took part in combat operations in the Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kursk regions as part of the Russian armed forces. During one of the battles, he was wounded and hospitalized in Moscow. After recovering, in March 2025 he arrived at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Moscow, obtained new identity documents and returned to Uzbekistan on 28 March, where he voluntarily turned himself in to the police.

When passing the sentence, the court took into account his full confession, remorse, lack of prior convictions, difficult financial situation and voluntary surrender.

By the court’s decision, A.Kh. was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 154 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code (Mercenarism) and sentenced to three years of imprisonment in a general-regime colony.