The Southern District Military Court sentenced Ilya Mezhankov, a resident of the self-proclaimed DPR, to 22 years in prison. According to the court’s press service, which informed Mediazona, he was found guilty in a case involving treason and training for terrorism.
The court also convicted Mezhankov of illegal trafficking of explosive devices as part of an organized group, as well as preparation for a terrorist attack committed by a group of individuals.
According to the court, Mezhankov is 43 years old; he was born and lived in Horlivka, Donetsk region. In April 2025, his name was added to the Rosfinmonitoring list.
Investigators say that in winter 2024, he began corresponding with a GUR officer who allegedly offered him a role in a terrorist community. The prosecution’s version says Mezhankov’s task was to receive parcels containing components for explosive devices, store them for some time, and then pass them on to other members of the group.
According to the charges, in late December 2024 Mezhankov retrieved bomb parts from a dead drop and kept them in his garage until his arrest in January 2025. The name of the group that the court considered terrorist was not disclosed during the proceedings.
The court ruled that he will spend the first three years in prison, with the remainder of the term in a maximum-security penal colony. He was also fined 700,000 rubles, the court said.