4 minWorld
Russian Court Sentences Ivano-Frankivsk Resident to 13 Years for Ukraine Donations
A Sverdlovsk court convicted Russian citizen Ivan Stolbov of treason over 11 transfers made while he lived in Ukraine. He was arrested after flying to Yekaterinburg to visit his mother.
A court in Yekaterinburg has sentenced a Russian citizen who lived in Ukraine to 13 years in a strict-regime penal colony after finding that a series of small donations amounted to treason.
The Sverdlovsk Regional Court said Ivan Stolbov, 34, made 11 transfers between May 2023 and October 2025. Each was roughly 100 hryvnias. The court converted the total to 5,466.13 rubles and said the money went to a Ukrainian organization whose funds were later used for military supplies for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The court listed tactical medical equipment, military gear, ammunition, weapons-related items and vehicles among the purchases it attributed to the organization. The public statement did not detail the evidence linking each individual transfer to a specific purchase, so that description remains the Russian court’s account of the money’s end use.
Stolbov was convicted under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code. The statute applies to Russian citizens and includes financial assistance to a foreign state or organization in activity directed against Russian security. It carries a prison term of 12 to 20 years and can also result in life imprisonment.
Mediazona reported from the courtroom that Stolbov was born in Sarapul and retained Russian citizenship but lived in Ivano-Frankivsk before his arrest. He had no Russian registration and worked as a procurement manager.
The arrest occurred after he entered Russia in 2025. The regional court’s press service said Stolbov flew in to visit his mother and was detained at Koltsovo Airport. Mediazona reported that the broader purpose was to see relatives.
Court records reviewed by Mediazona show that the detention did not immediately appear publicly as a treason case. Stolbov was subjected to a sequence of administrative arrests in July 2025, including allegations of petty hooliganism and disobedience to an FSB officer. His mother and sister went to meet him after one detention period but did not see him released. His lawyer said he had been taken away from inside the facility.
The criminal sentence announced this week consists of 13 years in a strict-regime colony, one additional year of restricted freedom and a 300,000-ruble fine. The court also ordered confiscation of Stolbov’s mobile phone and 5,466.13 rubles.
The ruling is not yet final. The court said it would take effect after 15 days if neither side appeals.
Russia has sharply expanded national-security prosecutions since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Verstka identified at least 1,904 defendants in treason, espionage and related cases filed since 2022 and established the identities of 1,497 of them. Its review found 65 Russian defendants accused in connection with monetary transfers benefiting Ukraine. The average sentence under the treason statute reached 16 years in the first half of 2026, according to the outlet’s calculations.
For Stolbov, the case turns on two facts that crossed borders: he was living in Ukraine when the transfers were made, but he remained a Russian citizen and later returned to Russian territory. The outcome of any appeal will determine whether the 13-year sentence stands, but the conviction already demonstrates how Moscow is applying its treason law to financial conduct carried out by citizens living abroad.
