At least 4,029 people in Russia and in occupied parts of Ukraine have become defendants in politically motivated criminal cases tied to the war against Ukraine, according to the Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial project.
As of February 18, 2026, 3,059 remain in custody. Courts have issued 2,730 verdicts, including 2,302 prison sentences. There have been no acquittals, the rights group says.
The highest numbers of prosecutions are in Russia’s Kursk region (346), Ukraine’s Donetsk region (289), and in Moscow and the Moscow region (249). Across occupied Ukrainian territories — Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea and Sevastopol — 899 people have faced criminal prosecution.
Among the defendants are 1,614 Russian citizens, 1,277 Ukrainian citizens, 121 dual nationals and 47 citizens of other countries.
Russians are most often convicted on charges of treason (473), terror attacks (317) and public calls to commit terrorism (298). Since 2022, 731 people have been implicated in arson and sabotage cases.
The project says it knows the names of at least 551 civilians with Ukrainian passports and 726 Ukrainian service members. At least 39 Ukrainian citizens have received life sentences.
Ukrainian civilians are most often convicted of treason (199), terror attacks (159) and espionage (152). Service members most frequently face charges of terror attacks (342), organizing or participating in a terrorist organization (195), and undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activity (183).
