Uzbek citizen jailed in Russia for attempting to flee the war in Ukraine

An Uzbek national who attempted to escape the war in Ukraine has been sentenced in Russia to seven years and nine months in prison. His case was heard by the Novosibirsk Garrison Military Court, Mediazona reported.

According to court documents, the man had previously been convicted in April 2023 in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region for attempting to sell наркотик substances and was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in a maximum-security prison. While serving his sentence, he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and was sent to the combat zone in Ukraine. Under the terms of the contract, he was supposed to be released after returning from the war, but he was injured during the fighting.

Afterward, the man was hospitalized at a military hospital in Novosibirsk. Once his treatment ended, on the evening of 23 May 2025 he traveled to a forested area near the border between Novosibirsk Region and Kazakhstan, where he planned to meet a guide. The guide never arrived, and the following day the man was detained by officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service border guard.

In September 2025, a military court found him guilty of attempting to illegally cross the state border and sentenced him to six months in prison. However, taking into account the unserved portion of his previous sentence, the court ultimately ruled that he must serve a total of seven years and nine months in a maximum-security correctional facility.

It is worth noting that earlier reports said another Uzbek citizen who had taken part in the war on Russia’s side was sentenced to three years of corrective labor.