On February 19, 2026, the Kherson City Court convicted a Russian citizen and FSB officer who, in 2022, personally interrogated and tortured civilians in the Kherson region in court and police buildings seized by Russian forces.

What Is Known About the Offender

Zanevsky Yan Vyacheslav (born May 20, 1995) is the son of Vyacheslav Zanevsky, a Russian-born former Ukrainian citizen who headed the security service of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych from 2008 to 2013. Zanevsky Jr. is a Russian citizen, a native of Moscow, and an officer of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

During the occupation, he served as the “curator of the Bilozersky district” for the occupying authorities.

Victims describe him as a young man who sat at a table during interrogations and dictated the proceedings while other military officers physically abused detainees.

This is his second sentence. Earlier, in July 2025, the Voznesenivskyi District Court of Zaporizhzhia sentenced him to 12 years in prison for similar crimes.

Circumstances of the Crimes

• The first victim: deputy director of an agricultural enterprise

On September 13, 2022, armed soldiers in a Ural vehicle arrived at the home of a woman running a business in Bilozerka. She was blindfolded, had her phone confiscated, and was taken to the Bilozerka District Court building, which at the time was used by Russian forces as an illegal detention facility.

She was placed in a small, dirty cell without light, food, water, or a toilet.

On the same day, she was taken for interrogation, during which the FSB officer demanded that she call her fellow villagers “radicals” on video and agree to cooperate with the occupiers. When she responded in Ukrainian or refused, one of the soldiers beat her with a rubber baton on her back, neck, and head. To break her morale, the officer threatened to rape her daughter.

The interrogation was repeated the next day. After refusing, the woman was taken to the Main Department of the National Police in Kherson, where she was held until September 30, 2022.

• The second victim: village head

On September 15, 2022, armed Russian forces came to the house of the head of the Stanislavska ATC. They put a bag over his head, handcuffed him, and first took him to a local school, where he was chained to a radiator, and the next day to the Bilozersky court.

For several days, he was taken for daily interrogations. During the first, he was subjected to electric shocks through a field phone generator connected to his arms. He was also severely beaten: at least 16 punches and kicks, 5 blows with a rubber truncheon, and 12 electric shocks.

The FSB officer demanded that he agitate locals to participate in the “referendum” and threatened him with imprisonment in Crimea and execution. On the evening of September 18, under duress, the man signed a consent to cooperate and recorded a video message. The next morning, he was personally escorted home by the same officer.

During his detention, he was given food only once, and no medical care was provided.

• The third victim: village head

On September 21, 2022, the head of the Nadezhda village headquarters was taken from his home. His face was covered, and he was placed in a minibus marked with a “V.” He was brought to the Kherson police building on Lutheranska Street.

After several days in a cell, he was taken for interrogation, during which the FSB officer personally punched and kicked him and administered electric shocks to both arms. If he spoke Ukrainian or remained silent, the beatings intensified. He was questioned about weapons storage and ties to guerrillas.

A few days later, during a second interrogation, the man was tortured so severely that he lost consciousness. He regained consciousness at home on September 30, having been abandoned in a field. Local residents found him and took him to a hospital.

A forensic examination revealed severe brain contusions, subdural and intraventricular hemorrhages, multiple bruises and abrasions, and wounds on his fingers. The brain injuries led to hydrocephalus and were classified as grievous bodily harm, life-threatening.

The Verdict

The Kherson City Court found Zanevsky guilty of violating the laws and customs of war, including cruel treatment of civilians, torture, and illegal detention committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for this conviction. Taking into account his previous 12-year sentence from the Zaporizhzhia court, his final term was set at 14 years through partial accumulation of sentences.

The trial was conducted in a special procedure, without the presence of the accused, who remains in Russia.