The Sverdlovsk Regional Court sentenced Ivan Stolbov, a 34-year-old Russian citizen who lived in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, to 13 years in a high-security penal colony.
The court sentenced Stolbov over 11 alleged donations of about 100 hryvnias (about $2.23) each to an unidentified Ukrainian organization, Mediazona reported on 10 August 2026. Born in Sarapul, Russia, Stolbov worked as a procurement manager before his arrest.
Since 2022, Russian courts have imprisoned Russians and Ukrainians under treason, terrorism, and other national-security laws over donations to Ukrainian causes. Penalties depend on the charge: high treason, used against Stolbov, has a 12-year minimum. The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) reports that Russian officials threaten up to eight years in prison for donations to organizations Moscow labels extremist, regardless of the amount (this includes Ukrainian organizations).
Authorities detained him at Yekaterinburg's Koltsovo International Airport in July 2025. Stolbov had traveled to Yekaterinburg to visit relatives.
The verdict said he was not registered in Russia. Court records reviewed by Mediazona showed that Stolbov then received three consecutive administrative arrests, two imposed as he left the detention center, before prosecutors filed the treason charge.
KHPG has reported cases in which Russian authorities used surveillance to detect such transfers.
KHPG has documented defendants ranging from teenagers and pensioners to travelers and residents of occupied Ukraine.
Small transfers, decade-long sentences
Stolbov’s case is one of several in which Russian courts have imposed decade-long terms over alleged donations to Ukraine.
Two women from Russian-occupied Enerhodar received 14 years each after allegedly transferring $120 and $57 to Ukrainian forces.
In May, a Russian court sentenced Ukrainian citizen Polina Kuzmina to 12 years and Russian citizen Vladimir Grabovetsky to 14 years. Prosecutors accused them of making 78 transfers to fund Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
KHPG documented a 14-year sentence for a Melitopol mother of two over alleged donations to Ukraine’s military and the Freedom of Russia Legion. KHPG also reported that Viktor Nikitenko, 58, received 12 years for alleged transfers and Ukrainian war bonds.
Stolbov’s 13-year term sits just above the minimum for high treason under Russian law. Article 275 provides for 12 to 20 years or life imprisonment.
