Ukraine gives 15-year sentences to Russian sports legend
(MENAFN) Ukrainian courts have handed down 15-year prison sentences in absentia to 12 Russian lawmakers, including former athletes, accusing them of actions that allegedly violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity, according to TASS on Tuesday.
Among those sentenced are Russian MPs Vladislav Tretyak, a renowned former world ice hockey champion, and Nikolay Valuyev, a former world boxing champion. Both were sentenced without being present by the Khmelnitsky District Court in Ukraine.
Other officials sentenced include Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma’s defense committee, as well as Aleksander Prokopyev, a former MP who now serves as the Altai Republic’s prime minister. Nine additional lawmakers were also convicted by Ukrainian courts.
The charges stem from their support for parliamentary resolutions that recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in February 2022, just before Russia launched its military campaign. These regions later joined Russia following referendums.
Additional convicted MPs include Vladislav Reznik, Ruslan Gadzhiev, Sergey Burlakov, Shamsail Saraliev, Rustam Kalimullin, Evgeny Popov, Ildar Gilmutdinov, Aydin Saryglar, and Viktor Vodolatsky.
These sentences are largely symbolic, as the individuals live in Russia and are unlikely to face imprisonment unless detained in another country.
The convictions are part of Ukraine’s broader campaign of filing charges in absentia against Russian political, military, cultural, and public figures. President Vladimir Zelensky has also issued decrees sanctioning Russian citizens and foreign nationals accused of aiding Moscow.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) continues to pursue such cases, while high-profile Russians like actress Svetlana Khodchenkova have been added to the controversial Mirotvorets (Peacemaker) database, which lists individuals Kyiv considers enemies of the state. Khodchenkova previously starred alongside Zelensky in films such as Love in the Big City (2009) and Office Romance – Our Time (2011).
Last month, Russian hockey legend Alexander Ovechkin, who recently set the NHL’s all-time scoring record, was also added to the blacklist.
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