Memorial's Political Prisoners Support project designated Yuriy Kudrevatykh, a Ukrainian citizen who served in Ukraine's armed forces and was captured by Russia, a political prisoner on October 22. A Russian occupation court in Donetsk sentenced him to 13 years and six months in a penal colony on a treason charge.
Kudrevatykh lived in Crimea and obtained Russian citizenship after the peninsula was occupied, while retaining his Ukrainian citizenship. He moved to Ukrainian-controlled territory in 2019. He was mobilized into Ukraine's armed forces in April 2024 and captured during fighting on April 21, 2025. Russian authorities contend that serving in Ukraine's army constituted treason.
The verdict was delivered on July 8, 2026. In addition to a term in a strict-regime penal colony, Kudrevatykh was given a one-year restriction on freedom after release and a fine. The new development is the rights group's legal assessment published in October, not the July judgment itself.
Memorial considers the prosecution unlawful, citing Kudrevatykh's Ukrainian citizenship, the circumstances in which he acquired a Russian passport in occupied Crimea and protections under international law for participants in armed conflict. This is the organization's position. The legal issues must be examined in light of his prisoner-of-war status and the applicable provisions of international humanitarian law.