A 47-year-old Polish man has been sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic for fighting alongside Ukraine.
Polish Citizen Convicted of Mercenary Activity
A 47-year-old Polish man was captured in November 2024 and accused of “mercenary activity” on the Ukrainian side of the conflict.
The man will serve his sentence in a penal colony.
Sentence Handed Down by Luhansk People’s Republic Court
The Polish citizen, originally from Mysłowice, was convicted by the Supreme Court of the Luhansk People’s Republic – a separatist entity controlled by Russia established in 2014 in occupied areas of Ukrainian Donbas – and will serve his sentence in a strict-regime penal colony, according to Russian news agency Interfax.
Declining Putin Approval Ratings
Wacław Radziwinowicz, writing for Wyborcza.pl, reports that Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings are no longer “Teflon-coated,” having fallen by nearly nine percentage points in the past year, according to the Kremlin-affiliated All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).
Russia Accuses Poland of Involvement in the War
Russian propaganda regularly accuses Poland of participating in the war, including allegations of sending mercenaries to fight alongside Ukraine. In 2023, Russian forces captured a Polish civilian in eastern Ukraine and imprisoned him in a Russian penal colony, where he died as a result of torture.
Arrest in Occupied Melitopol
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the Pole was arrested in occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region due to his “opposition to the special military operation” – the term Russian authorities use for the invasion of Ukraine.
Death of Polish Citizen in Russian Custody
Viktoria Bieliaszyn and Marcin Rybak, writing for Wyborcza.pl, report that according to the Kremlin, Krzysztof Galos died of heart failure in a Russian prison, but witnesses report torture. “Wyborcza” obtained testimony from a witness.
