The Security Service of Ukraine has gathered evidence and notified two judges of the Southern district military court of russia, Konstantin Prostov and Sergei Obraztsov, of suspicion in absentia.

According to the investigation, in May and November 2024 they illegally sentenced two captured soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine to 18 years in a maximum security prison.

Both Ukrainian soldiers were members of the 12th Special Forces Brigade AZOV and participated in the defense of Mariupol from the first days of the full-scale war.

To jail Ukrainian soldiers in russian prisons, Obraztsov and Prostov staged a show trial on trumped-up charges.

In doing so, the officials violated international law, according to which the victims are combatants in an armed conflict.

If captured, such persons acquire the status of prisoners of war and are not subject to imprisonment for participating in hostilities.

Based on the evidence, SSU investigators have notified Prostov and Obraztsov in absentia of suspicion under Article 438.1 of the CCU (war crimes, in particular violations of Articles 129 and 130 of the Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949).

Since both ruscists are in the aggressor state, efforts are underway to find and prosecute them for crimes against Ukrainians.

The investigation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General.