Vitalii Gruzinov
- Criminal Code
- Article 205.3, Russian Criminal CodeArticle 205.5 part 2, Russian Criminal CodeArticle 278, Russian Criminal Code
- Case category
- Terrorism cases
- Verdict
- Imprisonment (strict regime)
- Sentence
- 21 years
- Date of verdict
- 2025-10-17
- Facility
- ФКУ СИЗО-5 ГУФСИН России по Ростовской области
- Address for letters
- 344064, Ростовская область, г. Ростов-на-Дону ул. Тонельная, 4, ФКУ СИЗО-5 ГУФСИН России по Ростовской области, Грузинов Виталий Николаевич, 1977 г.р.
Case summary
He is known in Ukraine as a journalist and activist under the pseudonym Kozak Vedmenko. A grenadier, he served in the Ukrainian "Aidar" battalion. He was taken prisoner in the spring of 2022 and was in the occupied territory of Donetsk region of Ukraine. He was charged under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. After the Russian Federation declared the DPR part of its territory, the charges were reclassified in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: Gruzinov was accused of participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation, forcible seizure of power, and receiving training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities. Human rights activists note that he is a prisoner of war, so he should not have been held criminally liable for actually participating in hostilities, and in addition, they consider the charges absurd. On 17 October 2025, Gruzinov was sentenced to 21 years in a strict regime colony.
Others charged under Article 205.3, Russian Criminal Code
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Source: this person’s record in the OVD-Info political persecution database
Published under CC BY 3.0. The criteria for treating a person as politically persecuted belong to OVD-Info; FACTUM relays their assessment and makes none of its own.
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