ROSTOV-ON-DON, April 8. /TASS/. The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced Artur Tkachenko, a member of the Azov nationalist battalion (designated as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia), to 18 years in a penal colony. Tkachenko was detained at the Azovstal plant in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in May 2022, as reported by a court spokesman.

The court found that on September 17, 2019, Tkachenko voluntarily joined the banned terrorist regiment Azov. Following his enlistment, he was sent to the group's training camp, where he underwent training from October to December 2019 to carry out terrorist activities. As a result, the court found him guilty under part 2 of Article 205.4 (participation in a terrorist group) and Article 205.3 (training for terrorist activity) of the Criminal Code.

In light of these findings, the court sentenced him to 18 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony.