Uzbek student sentenced for participating in Russian army’s Ukraine War

A student living in the Kushtepa district of the Fergana region was sentenced for participating in anti-Ukrainian actions as part of the Russian army. QALAMPIR.UZ has reviewed the court documents.

According to the court documents, A.Kh., who was born in the Kushtepa district in 2002, went to study in Moscow two years ago - on November 30, 2022. A.Kh., who was studying at a private university there, joined the Russian army for material gain. On August 23, 2023, he signed a one-year contract with the Russian Armed Forces to participate in hostilities against Ukraine for a monthly salary of 350-400 thousand rubles. From October 13, 2023, to February 2024, he participated in hostilities in Lugansk and Donetsk for four months.

During the trial, A.Kh. fully admitted his guilt. According to him, at the end of September 2021, he entered a private university in Moscow. During his studies, he was engaged in seasonal work. Around the summer of 2023, the police arrested him for not having documents and took him to the Moscow police station. He was informed that he would be deported from Russia and a criminal case would be opened. As a solution to this, he was offered to join the army, and he was also promised Russian citizenship. The young man voluntarily agreed.

The police officers issued him a summons. On August 17, 2023, he went to the Yablochko recruitment center in Moscow with a summons and signed a one-year contract to participate in hostilities against Ukraine as part of the Russian Armed Forces. He underwent a medical examination at the recruitment department and was sent to a temporary detention camp in the Moscow region. According to the contract, the young man’s monthly salary was 195 thousand rubles, and the payment, depending on the performance of combat duties, was around 350-400 thousand rubles.

After that, A.Kh. was sent to a military unit in the city of Tolyatti, Samara Region. There, the young man was issued a military ID card of the Russian Armed Forces. After a month and a half of military training, he and other soldiers were sent to a camp near the Russian-Ukrainian border on October 10, 2023. The young man was sent to participate in hostilities in the city of Lugansk on October 13.

“I fought there for four months, and on February 10, 2024, we were transferred to the Donetsk region. Due to the injuries I received during the fighting, I was treated in a hospital in Donetsk until February 26, 2024,” the defendant said.

Then A.Kh. returned to the military unit in Tolyatti. With the money received for participating in hostilities, he bought a car and an apartment on credit in the city of Tolyatti. In addition, he was awarded a medal and received Russian citizenship.

On September 14, 2024, A.Kh. left the territory of the military unit without permission to register a car in his name. After that, his commander called him and began to insult him. In response, A.Kh. announced his intention to terminate the contract and returned to Kazakhstan and from there to the Uzbek border in his car.

At the trial held on November 21 of this year at the Kushtepa District Criminal Court, A.Kh. pleaded guilty, expressed remorse for his actions, and asked the court to reduce the sentence.

The court found A.Kh. guilty of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 154 (Recruitment) of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to 5 years in prison. By Article 72 (Suspended Sentence) of the Criminal Code, the sentence was commuted to a suspended sentence with a probationary period of 3 years.

We would like to remind you that earlier an Uzbek national who went to Russia to work and participated in the war against Ukraine in exchange for material benefits was sentenced to 3 years in prison.