In Rostov-on-Don, 24 “Azovians” are on trial — they are soldiers of the regiment, veterans and female cooks. Brief profiles of Ukrainians who need to be returned home

On June 14, 2023, 22 Ukrainians were brought to the court in Rostov-on-Don, where political prisoners Oleg Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, and Stanislav Klykh were tried. They all looked emaciated — thin, with short-cropped hair. All the Russians were captured in the Mariupol region in the spring of last year. At different times, the prisoners were associated with the "Azov" regiment, but some of them had already resigned from the service or held civilian positions in the regiment at the time of their capture. There is no single story line. It is officially known about two articles of the Russian Criminal Code, according to which everyone is judged: involvement in a "terrorist organization" and "attempted violent seizure of power" in the occupied part of the Donetsk region. With this court, Russia violates the Geneva Conventions — they forbid the taking of civilians and the trial of military personnel for the performance of their duties. Until the trial, the Ukrainians were held in a pre-trial detention center in the Donetsk region. Last summer, the Russians were even going to hold a tribunal in Mariupol, but they abandoned this idea. So far, it is not completely clear how exactly the Russian security forces built the case and why exactly 24 people are on the dock. In general, there were two meetings in the case — on June 14 and 28. The next one is July 19. We made short profiles of Ukrainians who are currently illegally detained by Russia. What is happening in Rostov-on-Don has nothing to do with justice. We use the words "judgment" and "judge" in this text as established expressions that have no real meaning.

Iryna Mohytych, 41 years old.

Born in Berdyansk, lived in Urzuf. Has a 22-year-old daughter with a disability. It is not known who is helping her now. At "Azov" she got a job first as a dishwasher, then worked as a cook. It is not known when and under what circumstances she was detained.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Oleksiy Smykov, 27 years old.

Born in Boyarka, studied at the National Aviation University, studied computer science, but did not graduate. Engaged in military training. In 2016, together with acquaintances, he attacked the guards of an abandoned factory. As he later explained, the men were training and decided to practice interrogation tactics on the guards — they were tied up and asked about fictitious separatists. Smykov was convicted of hooliganism — he made a deal with the investigation, received a three-year suspended sentence with a one-year probationary period. He was released from punishment for good behavior in 2018.

It is not known when Smykov left for Azov. He met the full-scale invasion as a senior fire support operator and was assigned to a reconnaissance company. On March 5, a video with the captured Smykov appeared on the Facebook of Russian propagandists. On March 25, an interview with him was published on one of the Russian channels. Then the details of how the boy ended up in captivity became known — the car in which Smykov was with other fighters was ambushed. He is the only one who survived, but could not escape due to injuries.

He is on trial for firing a mortar at the positions of pro-Russian militants of the so-called "DNR" in 2019.

Artur Gretsky, 21 years old.

Originally from Severodonetsk. During his school years, he was engaged in kickboxing, in 2020 he received a bronze medal at the Open Kickboxing Championship of Ukraine for young men and juniors. He served as a gunner operator in "Azov". In April 2022, the president awarded him the medal "For Military Service to Ukraine". At the same time, the Russian military detained him on the territory of "Azovstal".

For some time, Gretskyi was considered dead — on July 28, 2022, the president posthumously awarded him the Order "For Courage" of the III degree. His mother believed until the last that her son was alive — he called her in May 2022, and then in August. On June 14, I found out about the fact that Artur is being tried in Russia from TV stories.

He is on trial for having fought with the Russian military.

Artem Grebeshkov, 30 years old.

Originally from Kharkiv, married, has two children — 6 and 3 years old. He served in the howitzer division "Azov" until 2021. After leaving the army, he lived in Mariupol. When the great war began, he wanted to return to his battalion, his mother told the Media Initiative for Human Rights. Most likely, the woman says, he was captured in March. In May of last year, Artem called from a Russian number — he said that he had been in captivity for a month and a half and that he would be tried as a former "Azov".

He is on trial for standing at a roadblock in the village of Sartana on the territory controlled by Ukraine.

Yaroslav Zhdamarov, 30 years old.

A native of Mariupol, in 2016-2019 he worked as a dog handler under contract in "Azov". When he was released, he lived in Mariupol with his girlfriend and mother, blogged about dogs on Facebook and Instagram. In the last six months before the Great War, he was engaged in the business of selling drinking water. A week before the invasion, together with his girlfriend Victoria, he was planning to submit documents to the RACS in order to get married. The area where Yaroslav lived with his family was the first to fall into the war zone. On the twenty-third of April, Yaroslav and Victoria, together with their neighbors, were taken by militants to the Pozhivanivska Church in Mariupol. From there, everyone could go wherever they wanted. Yaroslav and Victoria decided to return to Ukraine — for this they had to undergo filtering in the Nameless. Zhdamarov was detained there.

The last time Victoria communicated with Yaroslav was on May 18, 2022 — a month after the arrest. He called Telegram from an unknown number, said he was injured, but "tolerating." He said that he is in the Donetsk SIZO, where he is awaiting "trial", and that he faces from 5 to 10 years in prison. At the beginning of April this year, Victoria learned that Yaroslavʼs case was transferred to the Southern District Court in Rostov.

He is on trial for standing at a Ukrainian checkpoint in the village of Sartana.

Liliya Rudenko, 39 years old.

She lived in Yalta, 20 km from Mariupol. Tatar by nationality. Married, has two children aged 19 and 13. Before "Azov", she worked as an accountant at one of the resort enterprises of Melekyny, located on the shores of the Sea of Azov. When she transferred to "Azov" is unknown. I cooked food at Azovstal. The Russian investigation claims that it was she who was headed to Yalta on March 17 by her other colleagues from the "Azov" regiment.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Oleg Tyshkul, 54 years old.

Born in Illichivsk (now Chornomorsk), he came to Mariupol before the beginning of the Russian aggression in 2014. Joined the "Azov" regiment. Has awards for service, was wounded and had a concussion. He finished his service in the regiment in 2021, retired as a company commander with the rank of "lieutenant".

They are on trial for training the "Azov people", who then fought with the "peopleʼs militia of the DNR".

Alyona Bondarchuk, 41 years old.

She was born near Berdyansk. She worked as a baker at school, then got a job as a cook at "Azov". Kavkaz.Realii writes that Bondarchuk has not worked in the unit since 2021 and was a civilian at the time of her arrest. According to her testimony, which is in the investigation materials, on March 6, she was taken to "Azovstal", where she prepared food.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Anatoly Hrytsyk, 47 years old.

Originally from Vinnytsia region, has two children aged 15 and 22. Professional military man — graduated from the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces, participated in peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia. In 2008, Anatoly retired from military service. But in 2014, he returned and began serving in "Azov": first as a clerk, then as deputy commander of the regiment for technical issues. In 2018, he retired from the army and lived in Mangush. In March, he and his wife were detained by the occupiers. The wife was kept in the pre-trial detention center for 45 days, then released and taken to Anatolyʼs pre-trial detention center. Later, he was transferred to Rostov-on-Don.

They are on trial for training the "Azov people", who then fought with the "peopleʼs militia of the DNR".

Oleksandr Merochenets, 24 years old.

He was born in Shakhtarsk, Donetsk region. Later, the family moved to the nearby town of Toretsk, where the father served in the police. After the occupation of the city in 2014, the family moved to Zaporizhzhia. At the age of 18, Oleksandr signed a contract with the Armed Forces, began serving in Azov, and moved to Mariupol. According to the Russian mass media, he was captured during hostilities.

His parents received the last message on March 27, 2022. Later, Oleksandrʼs mother had to move to the occupied territories to take care of her parents. There, she delivered parcels to her son in the Donetsk pre-trial detention center. Oleksandr was on the list for exchange, but now he is being tried in Rostov.

He is on trial for serving at observation posts, loading and unloading weapons, ammunition and food after February 24.

Vladyslav Maiborod, 22 years old.

A girl from Mariupol, graduated from the technical school there. She worked as a cook in the "Azov" regiment. Her husband is a soldier, but it is not known in which part. He went missing after the start of a full-scale war. Vladyslava was injured and has chronic diseases. She told the court that she was not given the necessary medication in the Donetsk pretrial detention center.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Oleksandr Ishchenko, 54 years old.

He was born in Mariupol and lived there. As his wife Olena told Babel, Oleksandr was a sailor. He returned from the flight a few days before the full-scale invasion — February 17, 2022. Within ten days, he joined the "Azov" regiment and became a driver. It is not known when they were captured, but it was definitely during active hostilities in Mariupol. The family learned that he was in captivity from the photo. But they were not allowed to communicate. He spent a year in the Donetsk SIZO, and later ended up in Rostov.

He is on trial for serving at observation posts, loading and unloading weapons, ammunition and food after February 24.

Oleksandr Mukhin, 30 years old.

He was born in Mariupol, for some time he served in "Azov" as a rifleman. He had already retired from the army at the time of the invasion. It was not possible to find any information about him. It is only known that he lived with his girlfriend Kateryna Naumovich, who was due to give birth to a child in November 2022.

He is on trial for standing at a Ukrainian checkpoint in the village of Sartana.

Lilia Pavrianidis, 29 years old.

She was born in Berdyansk, then lived in Melitopol. She graduated from the Tavra State Agrotechnological University named after Dmytro Motorny, majoring in "food technologies". After a full-scale invasion, she ended up at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. She was a cook of the "Azov" regiment, together with others she prepared food for military and civilians at "Azovstal". The daughter of Vitaly Pavrianidis, who died in the spring, who also served in "Azov".

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Nikita Timonin, 28 years old.

He was born in the city of Lozova, Kharkiv region. He was married, but divorced, has a six-year-old daughter. It is not known when exactly he joined Azov. He was captured in April 2022 — Russian propagandists posted a video of his interrogation.

He is on trial for serving at observation posts, loading and unloading weapons, ammunition and food after February 24.

Oleg Zharkov, 52 years old.

Lived in Mariupol. He is married and has a ten-year-old son. In "Azov" he worked in the economic department — he was a handyman. He did not take part in the battles because he has a sick heart. When the full-scale invasion began, Zharkov took his family to a safer place and went to work in the regiment. Since then, contact with him has disappeared. The Russians captured Zharkov in March 2022. Relatives learned about it in April from a friend whose acquaintance saw Zharkov in prison in Novoazovsk.

He is on trial for serving at observation posts, loading and unloading weapons, ammunition and food after February 24.

Oleksandr Irkha, 44 years old.

He was born in Chernihiv region. Married, son Andriy is 24 years old. Andriy told "Babel" that the family moved to Mariupol in 2006. Oleksandr served in "Azov" from 2015 to 2020 as a mechanic-driver in a tank unit. In 2020, he resigned and worked at a metal depot. After the full-scale invasion, the family did not have time to leave Mariupol. In April 2022, militants came to their home and first took Andrii to Bezimenne for filtering, and in a few days — Oleksandr. Father and son saw each other in the camp for some time, then Oleksandr was taken away. Until November 2022, the family did not know what happened to him — an acquaintance who was released by the militants said that he saw Oleksandr in a cell in the Donetsk SIZO. The next news came from Rostov on June 15, when the mass media showed people on the dock.

He is on trial for standing at a Ukrainian checkpoint in the village of Sartana.

Nina Bondarenko, 39 years old.

She was born in the city of Bryanka, Luhansk region. She is married and has two children aged 11 and 19. Now their husband takes care of them. Bondarenko told the court that she was a senior cook at Azov. She did not have a military rank, she was a civilian. The Russian investigation claims that Bondarenko, together with Alyona Bondarchuk, Lilia Rudenko and Lilia Pavrianidis, tried to leave Mariupol for Yalta in the Donetsk region on March 17. They were detained by Chechen fighters at the Melekinsky checkpoint. The women were first kept in Olenivska colony, then brought to Rostov.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Olena Avramova, 50 years old.

Lived near Mangush, has two children. Before joining Azov, she worked in a store in Urzuf. Then she was a freelancer in the economic part of "Azov". At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she was sent to Azovstal, but left there to be with her children. She was taken from her home on April 27, 2022. The Russians held Elena first in Mangush, then in Olenivka and the Donetsk SIZO. Elena was not present at the first meeting — the court was informed that she was ill.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Natalia Golfiner, 49 years old.

She was born and lived in the village of Krynychny near Mariupol. She started working at "Azov" as a cook, later she was appointed head of the food warehouse. Has the rank of "junior sergeant". At the time of the beginning of the full-scale aggression, she was on sick leave. It is not known under what circumstances she was detained.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Marina Tekin, 30 years old.

She was born in Mariupol, where she lives. Has an 11-year-old daughter. Divorced She was a cook at "Azov" and worked in Yuryivka, not far from Mariupol. She was detained during filtering in Sartan.

She is on trial for feeding the military, in particular at Azovstal.

Oleg Myzhgorodskyi, 43 years old.

Originally from Chernihiv. Has four children, lived in Mariupol. At the time of the full-scale invasion, Myzhgorodsky resigned from military service. Due to illness, he was not present at the first meeting.

They are on trial for servicing equipment and delivering food and weapons to soldiers, transporting troops.

Dmytro Labinskyi, 23 years old.

He is one of two "Azov residents" who have already been exchanged, so he is being tried in absentia in Rostov. Dmytro was born in Odesa, served in the National Guard there, engaged in public order protection. He joined Azov on February 21, 2022. He was wounded and was at Azovstal. On March 31, 2022, several Ukrainian helicopters flew to Azovstal — they brought aid and took away the wounded. Labinsky was among them. This helicopter was shot down by the Russian military, Labinsky and another Ukrainian soldier survived. They were captured. On May 6, Labinsky was returned to Ukraine.

They are on trial for participating in hostilities against the Russian military.

Davyd Kasatkin, 26 years old.

The second of the exchanged "Azovs". Kasatkin lived in Mariupol, and was involved in sports since childhood. In 2015, when he was 18 years old, he joined Azov. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he was in command of the battalion. He participated in the defense of Mariupol, including "Azovstal". Kasatkin was captured while leaving Azovstal on May 20, 2022. At first he was kept in Olenivka, then transferred to Makiivka, a colony of strict regime. Russian propagandists tried to prove that he wrote a post threatening Ramzan Kadyrov and his family, but Kasatkin says it was fake. He was traded on September 21, 2022.

They are on trial for training the "Azov people", who then fought with the "peopleʼs militia of the DNR".

One of the sources for this text was the audio recording of part of the court session in Rostov-on-Don, which was given to us by the publication "Grata".

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