Sergei Nikitiuk

Served in the Ukrainian Aidar battalion, grenade launcher. He was taken prisoner in the spring of 2022, was in the occupied territory of Donetsk region of Ukraine. He was forced to film for a propaganda video. Later at the trial, Nikitiuk said that he was punched and threatened beforehand. 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: Nikitiuk was accused of participating 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 actually for participation in hostilities, and in addition, they consider the charges absurd. On 17 October 2025, Nikitiuk was sentenced to 20 years in a strict regime colony.