Kharkiv Court of Appeals upholds sentence for Russia FSB officer
The Kharkiv Court of Appeals has refused to acquit an officer of the FSB of Russia sentenced by a court of first instance to 11 years in prison for orders to torture civilians during the occupation of Balakliia.
"The defense filed an appeal seeking full cancellation of the verdict and an acquittal. On March 25, 2026, the Kharkiv Court of Appeals supported the prosecutor’s office’s position and denied the defense’s appeal. The verdict of the court of first instance remains unchanged," the press service of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reports.
As previously reported, on January 5, the Balakliia District Court of the Kharkiv region found 33-year-old Pavlo Kashirsky, a senior operations officer of the department of the UFSB of Russia for the Baltic Fleet and troops of the Kaliningrad region, guilty in absentia of ill-treatment of the civilian population and other violations of the laws and customs of war committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2 of Art. 28, Part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – 2022 edition) and sentenced him to 11 years of imprisonment.
It was established that during April–June 2022, the Russian intelligence officer personally interrogated detainees, attempting to obtain information about AFU fire adjusters targeting positions of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as pro-Ukrainian citizens. Specifically, under his orders, Russian military personnel stopped a car at a checkpoint containing a local resident. Threatening him with weapons, they took the man to a torture chamber set up in the building of a seized police department. During the interrogation, the Russia forces monitored Kashirsky’s reactions; when he changed his tone or pitch of voice, his subordinates began beating the prisoner, giving him no chance to respond.
Another man was detained while walking down the street. During interrogation, under Kashirsky’s command, Russia forces beat him with a rubber baton and tortured him with electric shocks.
The Russia forces held both victims without providing basic medical assistance, prohibited them from using the restroom, and provided almost no food. One man was held in the torture chamber for 10 days, and the other for 20 days, before the Russian invaders released them.
As the convict is hiding from Ukrainian justice on the territory of Russia, the term of imprisonment will be calculated from the moment of his actual detention. While he evades punishment, the statutes of limitation are suspended. The convict is currently on the wanted list.
