INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kommersant business newspaper reported Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the case.Junior Sergeant Roman Ivanishin was stripped of his
rank and found guilty of desertion and two attempts to surrender.Kommersant previously reported that Ivanishin was captured in eastern
Ukraine in June 2023 and returned to Russia in January 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange broked by the United Arab Emirates.Following his
which began March 17, was held behind closed doors and little information about the case has been made public.On Monday, a military court in
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sentenced Ivanishin to 15 years in prison, Kommersant reported
Prosecutors had requested a 16-year sentence.Ivanishin pleaded not guilty.Russia passed legislation in late 2022 that toughened penalties
for voluntary surrender, desertion and refusal to serve
Wartime conditions, mobilization and martial law are considered aggravating factors, allowing for harsher sentences.President Vladimir Putin
announced a partial troop mobilization in September 2022, several months into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine
It has not been formally lifted.
