Russian-controlled court upholds 15-year prison sentence for Iryna Levchenko

A Russian-controlled court has upheld the 15-year prison sentence imposed on Iryna Levchenko, a journalist from Melitopol convicted by Russia of “espionage”, rejecting her defence team’s appeal, Olena, the journalist’s sister, told the news outlet RIA-Pivden about the decision on 30 September 2026.

Iryna Levchenko. Photo from the family’s personal archive

Iryna Levchenko is currently held at the Mariupol Pre-trial Detention Centre. Russian security forces abducted her and her husband, Oleksandr, on a street in Melitopol on 6 May 2023. He was later released, but she has remained in Russian custody for more than three years. 

In September, the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Regional Court in Melitopol sentenced Levchenko to 15 years in prison for “espionage” under Russian law. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged that she had passed information to Ukraine about the locations of Russian administrative bodies and security agencies, their personnel, and the routes used to move troops, military equipment and weapons. 

ZMINA previously reported that Levchenko had described being held in a secret prison in Melitopol, beaten and tortured with electric shocks. 

On 3 September, the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Regional Court sentenced Iryna Levchenko to 15 years in prison after finding her “guilty of espionage”. 

ZMINA also reported that Reporters Without Borders had called for Iryna Levchenko’s release following her sentencing. 

Related: You sit like a potted plant: you may be watered, or you may not, and then you will wither – journalist Dmytro Khyliuk. A story of captivity and freedom

ZMINA previously reported in detail on the story of journalist Anastasiia Hlukhovska.

To provide background, at least 34 female journalists worldwide are imprisoned because of their work in 2026, including in Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia. Among the Ukrainian women held by Russia are Iryna Danylovych, Yana Suvorova, Iryna Levchenko, Anastasiia Hlukhovska and Zhanna Kyselova, who were detained by Russian forces in temporarily occupied Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia region.

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