Moscow military court hands down harsh sentences to three young men over attempted sabotage and treason and castigates their parents

Judge Igor Nikitchuk of the 2nd Western Military Court sentenced Yury Mikheev to seven years, while Timofey Melnikov and his brother Matvey received sentences of 20 and 19 years, respectively. The verdict was reported by a Mediazona correspondent from inside the courtroom. In addition, the Melnikov brothers were each fined 300,000 rubles—over $3,200.

All three were found guilty of attempting to orchestrate a group sabotage operation. In addition, the Melnikov brothers were convicted on charges of treason and of participating in the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Russian volunteer militia unit fighting on the Ukrainian side. When asked by the judge whether they understood the verdict, the defendants merely shrugged, offering no reply.

Although much of the trial was conducted in public, key oral arguments were held in closed session—without members of the public or journalists present. Nevertheless, Kommersant daily reported, without naming its source, that the prosecution had recommended a sentence of seven years for Mikheev, 20 years for Timofey Melnikov and 21 years for Matvey Melnikov.

It took the court just over a week to hear the case. The first hearing was scheduled for February 10, and a day after Judge Igor Nikitchuk was aggressively interrogating the parents of the Melnikov brothers.

At a hearing on February 11, Judge Nikitchuk harshly reprimanded Tatiana and Konstantin Melnikov for what he deemed a failure to properly raise their sons—going so far as to suggest that Tatiana, a deputy head of a school in the Moscow region, might soon be “asked” to resign once the verdict was finalised.

During his questioning of Melnikova, he remarked: “Normal people—and I don’t mean to offend anyone—take pride in two things above all. Two things are closest to them: their mother and their Fatherland. [The Melnikov brothers] betrayed their Fatherland. So you know what the next step would be…”

He then proceeded to place the blame squarely on the mother for her sons’ alleged actions. “We’ve read the reports from their phone inspections. It’s terrifying—what they texted about, the pictures they saved. Why didn’t you see it? Why didn’t you stop it?”

Then came personal threats. “You do realise how their life could turn out if they are found guilty under the charges they are facing? And not just theirs—they made their own choices—but what about yours? Do you think that after your children have committed treason, sabotage, and even terrorism, you’ll be able to keep your job? I think not. If you failed to properly raise your own children, you will, so to speak, be suspended from educating other children.”

Arrested in November 2023, Yury Mikheev and the Melnikov brothers have been held in custody ever since. The prosecution alleged that the young men were recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services and, following their instructions, planned to set fire to a military unit in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region—a plot they allegedly discussed with a so‑called “curator” from the Freedom of Russia Legion.

One prosecution witness testified that, before the attempted sabotage, Timofey and Matvey Melnikov were seen tailing an FSB officer in Lobnya with the apparent intention of planting a bomb in his vehicle.

All three have admitted their guilt.