Student Sentenced to 12 Years for Financial Support to Ukraine Amidst Harsh Treason Laws in Russia

A court in Volgograd, a city in southern Russia, has handed down a 12-year sentence to a university student after he made a minor financial transaction to Ukraine, according to the exiled news organization Mediazona.

Andrei Glukhov, 21, a student at Volgograd Polytechnic College who has cerebral palsy, was found guilty of treason on May 29, following a trial that lasted a month, as reported by Mediazona, referencing the court’s press office.

Eduard Glukhov, Andrei’s father, informed Mediazona that his son had expressed his dissent concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After the conflict began, Andrei connected online with someone who identified as a Ukrainian citizen and claimed to be gathering signatures in support of peace talks.

After receiving a Ukrainian bank account number from this individual, Glukhov reportedly transferred two small amounts of 1,500 rubles each (approximately $17 at that time), according to his father.

In September 2024, security agents conducted a raid on the apartment where Glukhov lived with his mother, confiscating computer equipment. Initially released after being questioned by the Federal Security Service (FSB), he was taken into custody again and charged a month later.

“My ex-wife called me and said, ‘That’s it, Andrei is now in solitary confinement,’” Eduard Glukhov recounted to Mediazona.

According to his father, Andrei accepted his guilt and cooperated with the authorities during the investigation.

Glukhov faces challenges due to his disability, which affects the mobility of his right hand and leg.

Since the onset of the conflict, Russia has imposed severe prison sentences on several individuals for making minor financial transactions to Ukraine.

In the summer of 2024, a military court sentenced a resident of Moscow, Nikolai Kolin, to 14 years in prison for contributing 10,000 rubles (around $110) to the Russian Volunteer Corps, a paramilitary group allied with Ukraine.

Additionally, during the same summer, Ksenia Karelina, an American-Russian citizen, was sentenced to 12 years for allegedly donating about $50 to a pro-Ukrainian charity. She was released in April as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia.