Ukrainian Sentenced for Forced Mobilisation into Russian Army

A Ukrainian citizen has been convicted in absentia for organising the forced mobilisation of civilians in the occupied Luhansk region to serve in illegal armed formations.

Mykhailo Kostiukov, a military commissar from the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), was found to have systematically ordered his subordinates to mobilise men for this forced military service.

These actions directly violate the constitution of Ukraine and international humanitarian law, specifically the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit an occupying power from compelling civilians to serve in its armed forces. 

According to the investigation, Kostiukov opposed the Ukrainian government and joined the so-called LPR People’s Militia in September 2021. He later initiated and accepted the appointment to the position of the head of the de facto Military Enlistment Office for the Artemivskyi and Kamianobridskyi districts of Luhansk.

From February 19, 2022, Kostiukov organised the forced mobilisation of men aged 18 to 55 in the occupied territory of the Luhansk region. These men were sent to fight against Ukraine as part of the Russian forces, often presented as volunteers, and without proper training. Those who refused were threatened with unspecified consequences.

Based on victim testimonies, law enforcement officials determined that Kostiukov unlawfully forced three Ukrainian citizens, along with other residents of the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, to serve. 

In late August 2022, Kostiukov was issued with a notice of suspicion for encroachment on territorial integrity (Article 110, Part 2), participation in an illegal armed formation (Article 260, Part 2) and violation of the laws and customs of war (Article 438, Part 1).

The defendant was tried in absentia, as Kostiukov, who has been on a wanted list since September 2022, reportedly remains in the occupied territory of the Luhansk region. To ensure the Kostiukov could not challenge the verdict later, law enforcement officials sent a summons to the email addresses of the so-called LPR military commissariat.

During the hearing, Kostiukov’s lawyer argued that there were discrepancies concerning his client’s identity and that it was not proven that the person in a photo – identified by both witnesses and victims – was indeed the defendant.

The court examined evidence presented by the prosecution, including numerous publications from the official websites of the occupation administration, Russian media outlets, posts on the Myrotvorets website and YouTube videos.

One video about the start of mobilisation in occupied Luhansk featured a speech by the head of the military enlistment office for the Artemivskyi and Kamianobridskyi districts of Luhansk. In the clip, Kostiukov announced the establishment of collection points for equipment and personnel and stated his readiness to carry out “assigned tasks”.

In another publication presented to the court, Kostiukov informed journalists that “recruitment offices are ready to send ten times more people” and that “there is a sincere desire [to serve] among the population”.

Kostiukov was also identified by forcibly recruited men from the occupied Luhansk region who had been captured by the armed forces of Ukraine. According to the Joint Centre for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War at the State Security Service of Ukraine, these men were part of a prisoner exchange in 2022, which is why the court reviewed video recordings of their interrogations.

One Luhansk resident captured by Ukrainian forces in 2022 told investigators he was walking home when a car pulled up beside him. Two unidentified men forced him into the vehicle and took him to a recruitment office against his will. There, he saw the de facto head of the district recruitment office, who introduced himself as Mykhailo Kostiukov.

According to the victim, the accused clearly stated that they were all to be mobilised and that anyone who refused would be prosecuted for draft evasion. The victim was then sent to another location and issued a uniform. There was no medical assessment. He and the other forced conscripts were then loaded into a Ural military truck and driven toward Popasna, a city in the Luhansk region. 

It was there that Ukrainian forces took them prisoner in May 2022. During questioning, the victim identified Kostiukov from a photo lineup, confirming he was the person who had given the orders at the military enlistment office.

Another victim, also a resident of the Luhansk region, told investigators he was walking home from work when he was approached by members of the so-called militia of the unrecognised LNR. They asked if he could fight, forced him into a vehicle, took him to a local department and then to the enlistment office. 

Kostiukov introduced himself as the military commissar and told the men, “You will take up arms and go defend the motherland.”

The conscripts were issued uniforms and, again without a medical check-up, were transported to the village of Yakovlivka in the Donetsk region. The victim was captured there in August 2022. He identified Kostiukov from photos shown to him by law enforcement.

The case file contains a statement from a key witness: a former militant for the so-called LPR People’s Militia, which he joined in 2015. The man confirmed that while on leave in 2021, he personally spoke witoth Kostiukov at a military recruitment office in Luhansk, saw his photograph on display boards and knew him as a de facto lieutenant colonel. The witness also provided a detailed account of his time on the front lines and his participation in the war against Ukraine. He was captured in 2022 and later released in a prisoner exchange, which is why he did not testify in person at the trial.

Investigators subpoenaed all the documents Kostiukov had filed with PrivatBank to open his account. They were also able to confirm his identity using his Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) – a unique code that cannot be assigned to more than one person. This is how police obtained the photo of Kostiukov that they used for identification.

Additionally, a forensic facial comparison confirmed that the individual identified as Kostiukov in Russian mobilisation videos is likely the same person in a photograph recognised by witnesses and victims.

In its review of the evidence, the court dismissed one item: the record of an identification procedure involving a third victim. This was due to the fact that the questioning and identification were conducted without a video recording. As a result of this procedural error, the charges related to this third victim were dropped entirely. All other evidence was accepted as credible.

The ruling stated, “Considering that information from open sources is more reliable than that obtained by other means, particularly covert methods whose authenticity is difficult to verify. In this case, the court must emphasise that there is no doubt about the authenticity of this information, nor any suspicion that it was forged or distorted. The information was obtained not only from open sources, but from the occupying authorities themselves and units of the so-called LPR.”

Journalists investigating the accused’s social media profiles found that he had been involved with illegal armed groups since 2014 and had participated in combat against Ukraine. On his VKontakte page, the man listed his place of work as the Zarya 1st Assault Company – a reserve unit for the so-called head of the unrecognised LPR.

The court found that Kostiukov’s actions undermined Ukraine’s national security and violated international humanitarian law. The accused was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison with full confiscation of his property. The Pavlohrad City-District Court of the Dnipropetrovsk region announced the verdict on August 11 this year and it came into force 30 days later.