Uzbek Court Convicts Man Who Fought for Russia in Ukraine

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — An Uzbek court has convicted a 29-year-old man of mercenary activity after he fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine — telling the court he had no choice after being threatened with a lengthy prison sentence on drug charges.

The Khanabad City Criminal Court in Uzbekistan's Andijan region handed down a verdict against A.S., finding him guilty under Part 1 of Article 154 of the Uzbek Criminal Code — the country's mercenary statute. The sentence: three years of corrective labor with 20% of his wages withheld by the state.

According to court materials, A.S. traveled to St. Petersburg in August 2024 seeking work and took up inter-city passenger transport using a rented vehicle. His account of what followed reads as a portrait of coercion. During one journey, his car was stopped by law enforcement officers; when narcotics were found in a passenger's luggage, both the driver and passenger were detained. A.S. told the court that despite the passenger claiming sole ownership of the substances, he too was drawn into criminal proceedings and placed in custody.

The defendant further stated that FSB officers subsequently informed him that narcotics had also been discovered in his vehicle's fuel tank, and that he was facing a potentially long prison term. At that point, he said, he was offered a way out: sign a contract with the Russian Armed Forces, go to war in Ukraine, and in return receive release from criminal liability and Russian citizenship.

Court records show that in September 2025, A.S. signed a contract with Russia's Ministry of Defense and was deployed to the Vovchansk area. He initially carried out casualty evacuation — recovering the dead and wounded — before being assigned to assault infantry operations. His combat participation continued until November 2025.

In January 2026, he left his unit and contacted the Uzbek Embassy in Moscow through acquaintances, obtaining travel documents for his return home. Upon arrival in Uzbekistan, investigators examined his mobile phone and found photographs documenting his military service and combat activity.

At trial, A.S. entered a full guilty plea, expressed remorse, and maintained that he had joined a foreign army under duress. He also asked the court to consider his family circumstances, including a minor child. The court dropped a separate charge relating to service in a foreign state's armed forces, ruling that the conduct was fully encompassed by the mercenary statute.

In determining the sentence, the court weighed several mitigating factors: his confession, expressed remorse, clean criminal record, the presence of a minor child, and his status as the family's sole breadwinner. The outcome — corrective labor rather than imprisonment — reflects those considerations.

The case offers a rare public window into the legal and human consequences faced by Central Asian migrant workers who end up entangled in Russia's military recruitment apparatus, whether through coercion, financial desperation, or both.