On March 17, 2026, the Shevchenko District Court of Kyiv found a judge of russia’s Southern District Military Court guilty under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In 2024, he sentenced a captured Ukrainian serviceman to 18 years in prison. This marks the first time a russian judge has been convicted of a war crime.
What is known about the accused
Obraztsov Sergey Vyacheslavovich (born June 13, 1974) is a russian national from Ussuriysk, Primorsky Krai. He graduated from the Vladivostok branch of the Far Eastern Law Institute of the russian Interior Ministry. On March 18, 2020, he was appointed a judge of the Tymovsky District Court in the Sakhalin region, and on December 8, 2023, he was appointed to the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don.
In March 2026, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions on Obraztsov.
Circumstances of the crime
Obraztsov handed down a guilty verdict against a Ukrainian serviceman captured on December 23, 2023, during a rotation near the Serebrianskyi forest area in the Luhansk region. One of his fellow soldiers was killed in combat, and he was taken prisoner.
In russian captivity, the serviceman was accused of participating in a “terrorist organization” and undergoing “training for terrorist activities” — referring to his service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The pre-trial investigation in russia was largely formal and involved physical and psychological pressure, as well as coercion to sign blank documents. A lawyer appointed by russian authorities did not defend the serviceman’s interests and instead advised him to sign all documents.
Obraztsov ignored these circumstances.
In May 2024, the judge considered the case in three brief hearings and handed down a sentence of 18 years’ imprisonment: the first three years in prison, followed by time in a high-security penal colony. No witnesses were examined in court — instead, statements from military personnel and FSB officers involved in interrogations immediately after the capture were read out.
On August 12, 2024, a russian military appeals court upheld the sentence.
On July 4, 2025, the serviceman returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange.
Verdict
After reviewing case materials (criminal proceedings No. 22024000000001024, opened on October 31, 2024), the Shevchenko District Court found that the russian judge had acted intentionally and was aware that he was depriving the prisoner of war of the right to a fair trial.
Under the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, POWs may not be prosecuted for lawful participation in hostilities. Accordingly, sentencing a serviceman for taking part in combat as a member of his country’s armed forces constitutes a violation of the laws and customs of war.
The court found Obraztsov guilty under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
The proceedings were held in absentia, as the convicted judge remains in russia and did not appear in court. The sentence will take effect from the moment of his detention.