Russia Breaks “Treason” Sentences Record, Publishes Data on How Many Criminals Escaped Punishment by Going to War

The number of people sentenced for “treason” and “espionage” doubled

In the first six months of 2025, 151 people were sentenced in Russian courts for the charges of treason, espionage, and confidential cooperation with foreigners, according to data from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court. This is twice as many as in the same period last year and the highest number in the last 10 years. The number of people sentenced for treason doubled, and of those sentenced for “confidential cooperation with foreigners” increased 12-fold.

At least 45 more sentences under the same charges were handed down in the first half of 2025 by courts established by the occupying authorities in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, as well as the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, according to IStories calculations. This makes up almost a quarter of all those convicted of treason and espionage during this period (the Judicial Department commented its statistics do not include sentences handed down by courts in the occupied territories).

Nevertheless, the actual number of people sentenced for “treason” and “espionage” may be several times higher, according to the Department One human rights project, which had compared the official statistics of the Judicial Department with the number of sentence records published on Russian courts’ websites.

For the first time, we learn the number of criminals who avoided punishment by going to war 

In the spring of 2024, articles were added to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that made it possible to dismiss criminal cases or receive suspended sentences by participating in the war in Ukraine. For the first time, the Judicial Department reported on how many people were able to escape punishment by participating in the war, and now we know that in the first half of 2025, 350 people took advantage of this opportunity. 

Most of them (118 people) were tried for theft, fraud, robbery, or banditry. 41 avoided punishment for crimes against life and health, including two for murder and two for rape.

Among those who escaped punishment and went to war are two women, four officials, and four foreigners.

The actual number of people who avoided criminal prosecution by going to war could be many times higher. The number of court cases suspended for unspecified reasons has reached 25,000, which is 40 times higher than the pre-war numbers, according to the Tochno.st project data. It does not say that the cases were suspended because the person on trial went to war, but lawyer Mari Davtyan considers that the most probable explanation.

Military personnel are tried for murder two times more often

In the first half of 2025, 116 soldiers were convicted of murder (committed back in the territory of Russia) by Russian courts. This number is two times higher than in the same period of 2024. 

The number of military personnel sentenced for murdering one person reached 68. 48 more were sentenced for either murdering two or more people, a minor, or a pregnant woman, which is categorized as a different part of the Criminal Code Article 105.

The number of those sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm also increased, reaching 92 in the first half of 2025, compared to 80 a year earlier.

The number of soldiers sentenced for sexual crimes (rape, violent sexual acts, sexual relations with children under 16) increased by 50%.

The number of military personnel sentenced for bribery reached a record high of 158 people. This is 1.5 times as many as in 2022, when the full-scale war began and mobilization was declared.

The number of military personnel convicted of drug-related offenses, as well as theft, robbery, looting, and fraud, is still increasing.

The total number of convicted military personnel has increased only slightly, by less than 100 people compared to the first half of 2024. In previous years, the number increased due to those convicted for military offenses (desertion, disobey, and others), but in the first half of 2025, only three more people were convicted of military offences than in the first half of 2024.

Minors and young people are a third of those sentenced for "military sabotage", "espionage", "treason", and "terrorism" 

48 people were sentenced under the military sabotage article in the first half of 2025—the same number as in all of 2024. Most of them are minors or younger adults (25 and younger): 12 teenagers aged 16 to 17 and another 24 people aged 18 to 24. 25 people got 11 to 15 years in prison, and another 22 people were sentenced with six to ten years in prison. 

Before the invasion, there were virtually no trials for sabotage in Russia, and no juvenile convicts until 2023.

According to the reports by the OVD-Info human rights project, those sentenced for sabotage are usually the ones who had agreed to set fire to relay cabinets on the railway or similar facilities in exchange for money from anonymous clients who had contacted them via messengers. 

After the full-scale war began, new articles were added to the Russian Criminal Code on “aiding sabotage activities”, “participating in a sabotage community”, and “receiving training for the purpose of committing sabotage”. In October 2025, the State Duma proposed introducing life imprisonment for involving minors in sabotage activities, as well as lowering the age of criminal responsibility for sabotage to 14 years old. Currently, for most charges of the Criminal Code, criminal responsibility begins at 16 years old, and for some, including a number of terrorist charges, at 14 years old.

Since the beginning of the war, a total of 170 teenagers aged 14 to 17 and 875 young people aged 18 to 24 have been sentenced under charges of treason, espionage, terrorism, and sabotage. This amounts to one-third of all those convicted under these charges since 2022.

The number of people convicted of "extremism" and "terrorism" doubled

The number of people sentenced under the “terrorist” articles of the Criminal Code is still increasing. In the first half of 2025, 654 people were sentenced under these charges, which is 1.8 times more than in the first half of 2024. The number of sentences for a “terrorist attack” offence grew most dramatically, with 210 people convicted, which is eight times higher than in the first half of 2024. One of the acts often covered by the “terrorist attack” charge is recruitment office arson, a wave of which began after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The number of people sentenced under "extremism" charges of the Criminal Code is also growing. In the first six months of 2025, 504 people were convicted under the charges of this kind, which is 1.5 times higher than in the first half of 2024. This is a record high since 2018, at least.

The most common “extremist” charge is “Participation in the activities of a public or religious association that has been ordered by a court to be dissolved.” A total of 126 people were sentenced under this charge. Among them were Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as those supporting the FBK and the Vesna movements.  

In the first half of 2025, the number of people convicted of "rehabilitating Nazism and publicly disrespecting days of military glory and symbols" (Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) continued to grow. Russian courts handed down 42 such sentences. This is 1.8 times more than in the same period last year.

Prison sentences for anti-war sentiment

Russian courts continue prosecuting individuals who speak out against the war in Ukraine. In the first half of 2025, 45 individuals got prison sentences for the “false news about the army,” and two of those convicted were put into compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital. Another 33 people were sentenced under the charge of “repeated discrediting of the army”. This charge is used to prosecute those who have been fined twice within a year for “discrediting” the army.

Convictions for draft evasion are back to 2022 levels

In the first half of 2025, 580 Russians were convicted of evading military service . Two more were convicted of evading alternative civilian service. This is roughly in line with the 2022 level, but more than in 2023 and 2024.

In 95% of these cases, courts would impose fines of up to 100 thousand rubles (approx. $1225). At the same time, the average fine value is increasing.

Two people got actual prison sentences of up to a year for draft evasion. It had only happened once before, in 2022.