Gennadii Artemenko

He is a resident of Dzerzhinsk (the Nizhny Novgorod region). According to Department One, he was attempting to get his mother out of Ukraine, which is why he contacted Ukrainian authorities and spoke with his mother on the phone in Ukrainian. At some point, he began receiving notifications that someone was trying to access his email account. On 18 October 2023, Artemenko was detained and then taken into custody. He was charged with possession of explosives – a support group claims that gunpowder, detonators, blocks of explosive, and an incendiary tube were planted on him during a search. According to Artemenko’s supporters, the photographs were posted on pro-Ukrainian groups on Telegram. Department One notes that Artemenko is a lieutenant colonel in the artillery and missile forces and would be unlikely to store explosives behind a hot radiator, where they were found. After the search, he was taken to an FSB unit, where he was threatened with a case against his wife if he did not cooperate with the investigation. He was also subjected to torture. Artemenko was taken into custody. He was denied access to his lawyer for a week.

In the summer of 2024, Artemenko was charged with treason for photographing military facilities in the interests of the ATESH partisan movement. In October 2024, he was charged with public justification of terrorism for distributing anti-war leaflets in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Artemenko’s phone allegedly contained correspondence with a representative of ATESH, but the prosecution was unable to provide an expert examination of the correspondence at the trial. As evidence for the leaflet-posting charge, the prosecution relied on a video recording which, according to Department One, cannot be used to identify the person or confirm that the leaflet was posted. The intent to possess explosives was not proven in the case.

Department One also notes that, according to the case materials, the words “Glory to Ukraine” and a Ukrainian trident were found on the door at the basement of the apartment building where Artemenko lived. The wife of the defendant stated that the inscription was very recent. She tried to get an expert examination, but it was refused. The case includes a testimony from the apartment building manager who stated that only Artemenko and his wife had access to the basement. Department One claims that she later admitted that, before giving her testimony, she had taken the keys to the basement from another apartment. Artemenko’s family claims that the keys had always been kept by their neighbour.

On 27 June 2025, Artemenko was sentenced to 18 years in a strict regime colony.

You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our database of politically motivated criminal prosecutions.