On June 22, the criminal court of Oqqo‘rg‘on district (Tashkent region) heard the case of 31-year-old citizen U.R., who fought on the Russian side in the Russia-Ukraine war. According to court documents, in June 2025 he traveled to St. Petersburg and, motivated by material gain, enlisted in the Russian Armed Forces.

U.R. served as a private in military unit 02511 of the Russian Ministry of Defense, carrying out combat missions in Ukraine under a one-year contract. He was discharged after being wounded in action. On November 24, 2025, he acquired Russian citizenship, and on January 19, 2026, upon returning to Uzbekistan, he was detained by the Interior Ministry and State Security Service.

In court, U.R. stated that he had been working seasonally in Russia since 2013, including in construction in St. Petersburg. Seeing advertisements promising 700,000 rubles for signing a contract with the Russian military, he signed a one-year contract in October 2023. After a month of quarantine and training, he was sent to a Russian military camp in Donetsk region, where he participated in combat.

The defendant was wounded twice by drone attacks: in March 2024 (back and abdomen) and in September 2024 (right arm and leg). He claimed he primarily built bunkers and did not engage directly with Ukrainian forces. He received 10 million rubles for his service, using 3 million to buy an apartment.

The court found U.R. guilty under Article 154, Part 1 (Mercenarism) of the Criminal Code. Considering his full confession, sincere remorse, lack of prior convictions, and family circumstances, the court applied Article 57 (Imposition of a lighter sentence) and sentenced him to 3 years and 6 months in a general-regime colony. The term is counted from January 27, 2026.

Source: www.gazeta.uz