What punishment did a Russian soldier received, released in an exchange of prisoners, because he spoke to a Ukrainian blogger about the heavy losses on the front
Russian soldiers on the Ukraine front line, photo: Not Supplied / Willwest News / Profimedia
A Russian soldier issued following an exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine was sentenced to four years in prison, in a penitentiary colony, after giving interviews to a Ukrainian blogger, writes the Russian Independent Mediazona, which reports from exile, citing judicial documents.
The Moscow Court found Pavel Guguyev guilty of “cooperation on confidential information” with foreign citizens, Mediazona said.
Guguyev was a 12-year sentence in a prison of maximum crime safety, bodily injury and theft before joining the Russian troops during the invasion of Ukraine.
Two years before completing his sentence, he signed a military contract and was sent to Ukraine, where he was later taken prisoner.
During the captivity, Guguyev gave an interview to Ukrainian blogger Dmitri Karpenko, in which he described the heavy losses suffered by the Russian army on the battlefield, comments that became quickly viral, notes The Moscow Times.
Guguyev gave a second interview to Karpenko in July 2023, after being released following an exchange of prisoners and returned to Russia.
He again criticized Russia's military leadership and said that officials urged him to publicly declare that his first interview was granted “under pressure” to the Ukrainian party.
Guguyev was arrested in June 2024 and placed in preventive arrest.
