The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has handed down another harsh sentence to a Ukrainian prisoner of war — 20-year-old Azov Regiment fighter Vladyslav Shpak was sentenced to 21 years in a maximum-security penal colony. Russian investigators accused him of participating in a “terrorist organization” and undergoing “training for terrorist activities.”
According to the Russian side, Shpak joined the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020 for ideological reasons and became a member of the Azov Regiment. In 2021, he underwent combat training, which investigators classified as part of terrorist activity. After the full-scale war began, he defended Mariupol and took part in the fighting at the Azovstal steelworks. On May 17, 2022, following orders from his command, Shpak surrendered.
Interestingly, investigators could not clearly establish what exact role Shpak had in the unit — in different documents, he was described as a machine gunner, a grenade launcher assistant, or a reconnaissance driver. Despite these inconsistencies, the court found him guilty and imposed an extremely harsh sentence.
During the court hearing, when asked about his attitude after the war began, Shpak said: “Towards (Russian) citizens — no, towards the authorities — yes,” emphasizing his position as a soldier, not a criminal.
This case is not an isolated one. Russian authorities have previously sentenced other Ukrainian POWs to long prison terms — for example, Azov fighter Leonid Hlushchenko to 28 years and Dmytro Shanaiev to 20 years.
Such verdicts are part of the large-scale and systematic policy of the Russian Federation aimed at criminalizing Ukrainian servicemen who participated in the lawful armed defense of their country. Sentencing prisoners of war on “terrorism” charges directly contradicts the core principles of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which explicitly prohibit prosecuting combatants for taking part in hostilities.
In effect, Russia ignores international law, using the judicial system as a tool of political reprisal. This creates a dangerous precedent and threatens not only the rights of Ukrainian prisoners but also the very principle of protecting military personnel in conflicts worldwide.
Mass sentences based on questionable evidence or political expediency turn courts into instruments of repression. Such practices demand an immediate and decisive response from the international community, including pressure on Russia to end the persecution of prisoners of war and ensure their legal status in line with international norms.