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Photo: screenshot of video released by Russia’s Investigative Committee
As of Aug. 25, judges of Russia’s 2nd Western District Military Court had handed down terrorism convictions against 305 personnel from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) who took part in fighting in Russia’s Kursk Region, according to research carried out by the Kirill Parubets Analytical Center and The Insider. Among those convicted, 290 are being held as prisoners of war, while 15 were sentenced in absentia.
According to official figures and data from open source intelligence (OSINT) projects, 525 Ukrainian soldiers have been captured in the Kursk Region. The Insider has compiled a full list of those currently held in Russia. More than half have already been sentenced, while seven have been returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges. Of the 228 still in custody, four are confirmed to be under investigation. The status of the others — whether they face charges or are being held as ordinary prisoners of war — remains unclear.
A graph depicting Ukrainian POWs’ status. Legend: “In captivity, convicted” (290) – 55.2% (blue); “In captivity, not convicted” (228) – 43.4% (green); “Exchanged before trial” (7) – 1.3% (red).
Source: Kirill Parubets Analytical Center
Almost all of the sentences have been handed down under the charge that the accused committed a “terrorist act.” Press releases from Russia’s Investigative Committee, however, typically describe the charges as “illegal border crossing,” “blocking a settlement,” or “obstructing evacuation.” The human rights project Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial noted that the prosecutions target POWs simply for serving in the Ukrainian military and taking part in hostilities on Russian territory — actions that violate their right to a fair trial as well as rights and protections guaranteed by the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Memorial’s Sergei Davidis told The Insider that prosecuting POWs under terrorism statutes contradicts international law both in general and in the specific case of the Kursk captives.
“A comprehensive analysis of international treaties shows that a terrorism charge is, in principle, not applicable in the context of an international armed conflict,” he said. “The specific acts described in such verdicts are either not crimes at all, or they are violations of the laws and customs of war, which should be prosecuted as such. Since no such charges have been filed, in reality the prosecutions are being carried out solely for participation in hostilities, which directly contradicts the Geneva Convention on POWs. The hallmarks of terrorism — particularly the aim of influencing government decision-making — appear to have been artificially assigned to the actions of the convicted POWs.”
The sentences imposed on the Kursk prisoners range from 13 to 28 years, with one life sentence. The average term is 15.7 years. All convicted men were ordered to serve the first several years in prisons with the highest level of isolation before transfer to stricter penal colonies. No acquittals have been issued.
This graph shows the distribution of prison sentences given to Ukrainian POWs convicted in Russia. Most sentences fall between 15 and 16 years, with a peak at 16 years, while a smaller number range from 13 to 28 years.
Source: Kirill Parubets Analytical Center
Russia’s 2nd Western District Military Court began issuing sentences to Kursk POWs in December 2024, when two were convicted. In January 2025, seven were sentenced; in February, the figure was 22. Since then, at least 35 Ukrainian POWs have been convicted each month. The peak came in April 2025, with 58 convictions.
This graph shows the number of in-person convictions by month for Ukrainian POWs in Russia. The numbers rose steadily from December 2024, peaked in April 2025 with 58 convictions, and then fluctuated, with 25 recorded in August 2025.
Source: Kirill Parubets Analytical Center
Among the 15 sentenced in absentia, most are not Ukrainian citizens. The list includes citizens of the United States, Peru, Paraguay, Georgia, Lithuania, and Denmark. Georgians make up the largest group, with six individuals. All foreign citizens also face additional charges of “mercenarism.”
Cases against the Kursk POWs are being handled on an expedited basis. On average, the time from the filing of a case to the announcement of a verdict has been 43 days, compared with an overall figure of 99 days for terrorism-related cases in Russian courts in 2025.
Length of court proceedings (in days) for Ukrainian POW cases in Russia. Most trials were completed in about 40–45 days, with a few outliers extending up to 90–100 days.
Source: Kirill Parubets Analytical Center
Investigations into the Ukrainian POWs have also been accelerated. The average time from indictment to trial has been 5.5 months, whereas terrorism cases normally take 12 to 18 months to reach a courtroom.
Despite all 290 Kursk POWs being convicted under terrorism statutes, only 72 (25%) are included in the official “terrorists and extremists” registry maintained by Rosfinmonitoring. Most of those listed were convicted between December 2024 and April 2025. The Insider previously reported that since 2022, Russian authorities have added more than 1,000 Ukrainians to the registry. The new data suggest that far more Ukrainians are being prosecuted under terrorism and extremism charges than appear on the official list.
The full list of Ukrainian servicemen known to have been captured in the Kursk Region is available at the end of the Russian version of this news item.