Prosecutors of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office proved in court the guilt of 7 men who fought on the side of the enemy. They were sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Four residents of Luhansk, a Crimean, a native of Horlivka, and a native of Dnipropetrovsk region joined the armed formations and regular troops of the aggressor state at various times from 2014 to 2025. Two of them signed contracts in correctional colonies in the Russian Federation, hoping to erase the stigma of being a criminal by killing Ukrainians and earn themselves a "heroic" title.

They fought against the ATO/JFO forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions as shooters, grenade launchers, assault operators, driver-radio operators, and flamethrower operators. One of the former prisoners rose to the position of commander of a motorized rifle brigade.

The convicted participated in assault actions and held forward positions along the front line. They also stood guard at observation points for airspace, unloaded weapons, and repaired equipment.

In particular, they fought in the territories of the Zvanivska, Lyman, Krasnohorivka, Avdiivka, Ocheretyn, and Marinka communities.

Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen detained them in the Bakhmut, Kramatorsk, and Pokrovsk districts, as well as during the Kursk operation.

Depending on the actions committed, they were charged under Part 1, Part 2 of Article 111, Part 7 of Article 111-1, and Part 2 of Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Pre-trial investigations were conducted by the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Security Service of Ukraine in Sumy region.