On June 24, a criminal court in the Chust district of Namangan region, Uzbekistan, heard the case of 45-year-old citizen D.T., who fought on the Russian side in the Russia-Ukraine war. According to court documents, he traveled to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in December 2023 for work, driving a taxi, but was later arrested by Russian law enforcement on charges of drug possession and sale.

The investigation revealed that to avoid criminal liability, D.T. signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry on June 23, 2025, and joined the Russian Armed Forces. He was issued a military ID and dog tag, and underwent training in Rostov-on-Don and Donetsk, learning weapon use and combat skills.

In July 2025, he was sent to the front line. Two days later, he was wounded by a mine explosion and treated in military hospitals in Rostov-on-Don and Stavropol for about a month. During treatment, he decided to desert and on October 9, 2025, left the military unit, returning to Uzbekistan via Kyrgyzstan.

In court, D.T. fully confessed, stating that he was forced to sign the contract after police threatened to prosecute him for drugs and detain his family. He acquired Russian citizenship, signed a one-year contract, and received a total of 1.056 million rubles for his service. He voluntarily surrendered his Russian passport, military ID, and medical documents to Uzbek authorities upon return.

The court found D.T. guilty under Article 154, Part 1 (Mercenarism) of the Criminal Code. Considering mitigating factors — full confession, remorse, four dependent children, and his wife's disability — the court applied Article 57 (lighter sentence) and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months in a general-regime colony. The defendant was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Source: www.gazeta.uz