Illegal sentences for Azov POWs: two Russian judges were notified of suspicion of a war crime
The Office of the Prosecutor General has notified two judges of the Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation that they are suspected of committing a war crime – violating the right of prisoners of war to a fair and proper trial (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, in 2024, Russian judges handed down illegal sentences against prisoners of war from the Azov unit, sentencing them to 18 years in prison for participating in hostilities during the international armed conflict.
The judges grossly violated the requirements of Article 99 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which guarantees the right to a fair trial and prohibits punishment for the mere fact of participation in hostilities. The Office of the Prosecutor General reports that the suspects, aware of this fact, implemented the aggressor state’s policy of criminal prosecution of Ukrainian defenders.
“The issuance of such verdicts has become an element of a systemic practice of using the judicial institutions of the aggressor state as a tool of pressure on prisoners of war and an attempt to provide formal “legitimacy” to their illegal prosecution,” the Office of the Prosecutor General emphasises.
Read more about the illegal convictions of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the blog.
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Illegal sentences for Azov POWs: two Russian judges were notified of suspicion of a war crime
The Office of the Prosecutor General has notified two judges of the Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation that they are suspected of committing a war crime – violating the right of prisoners of war to a fair and proper trial (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
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In a POW exchange conducted on February 5, 2026, 150 military members and seven Ukrainian civilians were released from Russian captivity. The exchange followed an announcement by Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy. He reported that an agreement to exchange 314 prisoners was reached during trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. in the United Arab Emirates.
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