Uzbek enlistee in Russian army convicted for involvement in Ukraine War

An Uzbek citizen who took part in the Russia–Ukraine war has been sentenced to four years of restricted freedom, according to court documents reviewed by QALAMPIR.UZ.

According to the court documents, the defendant, R.T., born in 1973 and residing in Past Darg‘om District of Samarkand Region, traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2021 for work. In January 2024, it was determined that he had violated the rules governing his stay in Russia. To avoid facing any measures against him, he enlisted in the Russian army, actively participated in military operations against Ukraine in Viborskiy District of Leningrad Region, and took part in the construction of a military fortification (blindaj) on the battlefield in that district. He returned to Uzbekistan on January 10 of the current year.

On April 28, 2025, the case was heard at the Past Darg‘om District Court in criminal proceedings. During the trial, the defendant R.T. provided a statement and fully confessed to the charges. Specifically, he stated that, under coercion, he signed a one-year contract with the Russian armed forces and was deployed to a military unit along with citizens of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and other nations. In addition, he reported that in June 2024, he received a certificate for the position of pointer (o‘qchi) and that in July of that year, for signing the contract, he received 197,000 rubles, plus another 500,000 rubles.

The court found R.T. guilty of the offense outlined in Article 154, Part 1 (recruitment) of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to four years of restricted freedom. It is worth noting that in November of last year, an Uzbek citizen who participated in military operations in Ukraine was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.