50-year-old “Uzbek” who fought in Ukraine sentenced to prison

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A 50-year-old Uzbek citizen who participated in Russia’s war in Ukraine has been sentenced to 3 years and 1 month in prison by the Pop District Court in Namangan region on October 15 this year. QALAMPIR.UZ reviewed the court documents.

The individual, born in 1975, first went to Kazan, Russia, in 2012 for work and returned to his residence in Uzbekistan in 2013. On November 10, 2024, he traveled to Russia again for employment, this time to the city of Ivanovo, where he worked as a master at the “Tekstilniy HBC” company, returning home on April 4, 2025. According to reports, the main reason for his return was to inform his family of his intention to participate in combat operations against Ukraine as part of the Russian Armed Forces, though he did not disclose this plan to them.

Shortly after, on April 10, he returned to Russia and, on April 15, signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to gain material benefits. Under this contract, he joined the Russian Armed Forces as a “private” with the role of a driver-mechanic, serving under the call sign “Uzbek.” From April 20, 2025, he underwent two weeks of military training at a camp in Luhansk and was sent to participate in combat operations on May 5, 2025.

On May 9, during combat operations against Ukraine, the Uzbek citizen was injured in his left leg by a mine. He was treated in a military hospital until June 5, 2025. On June 6, a military medical commission declared him temporarily unfit for service, granting him a 30-day rehabilitation leave from June 7 to July 6. During this leave, the man realized the consequences of his actions and voluntarily returned to Uzbekistan on July 4, 2025, subsequently reporting himself to the law enforcement authorities.

Investigations revealed that he had received 1 million rubles (approximately 151 million UZS) from the Russian Ministry of Defense for being recruited into the armed forces. Part of the money was used for personal needs, while the rest was spent on treatment in Russia.

Notably, the 50-year-old is listed in the “I Want to Live” (“Хочу жить”) project, organized with the support of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Main Intelligence Directorate, which tracks Uzbek nationals who participated in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The court found him guilty under Article 154, Part 1 (“Recruitment”) and Article 154-1, Part 1 (“Serving in the armed forces, security, police, military justice, or similar institutions of a foreign state — recruitment”) of the Uzbek Criminal Code and sentenced him to 3 years and 1 month of imprisonment.

It is worth noting that in 2023, a 55-year-old man from Namangan, R.K., who had been recruited into the Russian army under contract, was sentenced to 2 years in prison. He had served as a mechanic under the call sign “Ded.”