Russia sentences 71‑year‑old to 5.5 years for serving in the Aidar battalion. He left the Ukrainian unit 11 years ago

Sykalo’s case came before the court in mid-December 2025, and he was sentenced in early February. The Ukrainian national was charged over his service in the Aidar battalion, which Russia designates as a “terrorist organisation”. No further details of the case were disclosed during the proceedings.

While the Aidar battalion is an official unit within the Ukrainian army, it is, along with the Azov brigade, commonly branded by Russian authorities as a Neo-Nazi formation.

It has officially designated it as a “terrorist organization”, which allows Russian authorities to prosecute Ukrainian citizens—including soldiers, drivers, and medical staff— for “participation in a terrorist community” rather than treating them as prisoners of war under international humanitarian law. Investigators often allege that the unit was formed to carry out criminal goals and “violent seizures of power” in the eastern Ukraine under the guise of official military service.

Mediazona was able to establish that Sykalo served in Aidar from autumn 2014 to August 2015 as a driver. He was accused of taking part in patrols in the village of Pisky, in the Starobelsk district of the Luhansk region, which remained under Ukrainian control until Russia’s full-scale invasion. Russian forces occupied Pisky in March 2022.

It remains unclear how, nearly 11 years later, the security services became aware of Sykalo’s service in the Ukrainian armed forces. Mediazona learned that he has been in custody since October 2025.

In court, Sykalo admitted to serving in Aidar, but said he had no knowledge of the battalion’s alleged “terrorist activities.”

He told the court he had joined Aidar to protect local river fish from poachers. According to Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial watchdog, which maintains a database of “terrorists and extremists”, Ivan Sykalo was born in Pisky.

He will serve his sentence in a regular penal colony.