On June 22, 2026, the Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine notified a russian judge of suspicion under Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for imposing an illegal sentence on a Ukrainian prisoner of war.

Who is the suspect

Mashukov Timur Khabasovich (born May 11, 1982) is a native of the village of Sarmakovo, Zolsky District, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, russian federation. He is a judge of the Southern District Military Court of the russian federation in Rostov-on-Don.

Circumstances of the crime

On April 18, 2025, the Southern District Military Court received a case against a senior soldier of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, an aerial reconnaissance operator with the Azov Special Forces Unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, who defended Mariupol. On May 20, 2022, near the Azovstal steel plant, he was taken prisoner, automatically acquiring the status of a prisoner of war guaranteed under the Geneva Conventions. Despite this, the law enforcement authorities of the russian federation illegally initiated criminal proceedings against him, accusing him of undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities (Article 205.3 of the Criminal Code of the russian federation) and participating in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the russian federation).

On August, 7, 2025, Mashukov handed down an illegal sentence against the Ukrainian soldier, finding him guilty solely for participating in an armed conflict and sentencing him to 19 years' imprisonment.

Suspicion

By his actions, Judge Mashukov grossly violated the requirements of Article 99 of the Geneva Convention, deliberately depriving the prisoner of war of the right to a fair and proper trial.

In accordance with international law and the Rome Statute, these actions constitute a war crime, which under Ukrainian law is classified as a violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The criminal proceedings were entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 22022000000000130 dated 02.04.2022.