In Russia, Ukrainian doctor sentenced to 5 years in prison for serving in AFU in 2018

17:44, 12.08.2025 1 min read

The Southern district military court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, sentenced 54-year-old Ukrainian Olena Ipatova to five years and two months of general regime, finding her guilty of participating in a terrorist community, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports, citing Russian media.

Ipatova was reportedly detained in March 2025. The Russian occupation administration in Donetsk region reported that Ipatova served as a doctor in the Aidar assault battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from January to spring 2018. It does not mention that she continued her service after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs has been searching for Ipatova since February 20, 2025.

The publication said Russian courts regularly sentence Ukrainian citizens from the occupied territories who resisted the Russian military to long terms on charges of terrorist acts and "high treason."