Russian authorities hold former ATO veteran Pavlo Zaporozhets in penal colony in Omsk

Pavlo Zaporozhets, a resident of Kherson unlawfully sentenced by Russian occupation authorities to 12 years in prison for allegedly planning a terrorist attack, is being held in Penal Colony No. 6 in Omsk, Russia, his sister Lidiia Zaporozhets told ZMINA.

Pavlo Zaporozhets

She says her brother was transferred to Omsk in October 2025. Since then, the family has struggled to stay in touch – Pavlo’s letters do not always get through.

“Prisoner of war Mykhailo Chupil is held there. It’s become much harder to communicate with Pavlo. The Russians are holding back letters. It’s also unclear under what detention regime he is being held. He asks us not to ask too many questions, so we think he may be under pressure because of this“, his sister says.

Lidiia recalled that she passed Pavlo a Russian–French dictionary in 2023, when he was held in a pre-trial detention centre in Rostov. He started learning French then. At Vladimir Central prison, where he was later held, the staff of the custodial setting forbade him from using the dictionary. It stayed in storage with his belongings for a year until he was transferred to Omsk. There, the staff took the book and placed it in the prison library, where he later found it again.

“He wrote to me that he had found his French dictionary in the library and had started learning again. He used to joke that his nieces and nephews study French as a second foreign language at school, and that he would learn it where he is now. And when he is exchanged, they will go to Paris together“, Lidiia recalls.

She says her brother does not understand why they have not been brought home and remain in Russian prisons.

Lidiia hopes that released civilians – including UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khyliuk and former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko – will draw attention to the issue of returning Kremlin-held detainees during international meetings with foreign officials.

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“Mykolaienko and Khyliuk visited Cyprus and took part in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s winter session. We now plan to appeal to ambassadors from countries that have shown interest in our case. We are continuing to fight for him in every way we can“, Zaporozhets says.

According to previously reported by ZMINA information, Pavlo Zaporozhets, an ATO veteran, was abducted by Russian forces in Kherson in spring 2022. Russia later charged him under Article 361 of its Criminal Code (“Act of International Terrorism”) for an “intended terrorist act” in Kherson.

Investigators allege that he planned to detonate explosive devices during the “Immortal Regiment” march on May 9, 2022.

At a preliminary hearing in Zaporozhets case, the defence sought to have a number of pieces of evidence declared inadmissible – including records of operational measures from the period when he was held for three months in a temporary detention facility in Kherson, where he was beaten and tortured with electric shocks. The court rejected the request, describing it as premature.

The court also dismissed a motion to terminate the criminal case on the grounds that no offence had been committed.

The defence argued that Zaporozhets is an active serviceman of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence and that the alleged attempted act formed part of the execution of a combat order. As no harmful consequences followed – even for the occupying armed forces – they said he should not incur criminal liability. Instead, the rules set out in the Third Geneva Convention should apply, and he should be exempt from prosecution.

On March 15, 2023, the first hearing in Pavlo Zaporozhets case took place in Rostov-on-Don. During the hearing, he asked the court to choose a preventive measure that did not involve detention.

On November 29, 2023, a court in Rostov sentenced Pavlo Zaporozhets to 12 years’ imprisonment. He refused to admit guilt.

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On October 1, 2024, Pavlo Zaporozhets was transferred to Vladimir Central prison to serve the first three years of his sentence.

Zaporozhets family has lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights over his unlawful detention by Russian occupation authorities. The Court confirmed receipt of the application and stated that it was under consideration.

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