Two Russians Sentenced for Forced Deportation
Investigators claimed Ukrainians were forced to pose as refugees seeking asylum to create pressure on EU.
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Oksana Matsopa
"We show the true picture."
Two Russian citizens have been sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison for the forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians.
According to indictments announced in April 2024, Konstantin Razygrin and Nikolay Opryshko hold senior positions within the occupation’s de facto “ministry of internal affairs of the Russian Federation in the Zaporizhzhia region”.
Investigators stated that Razygrin headed the so-called migration department in occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region, while Opryshko served as acting head of the de facto ministry’s main directorate.
The indictment specifies that in October 2023, Opryshko and Razygrin decided to deport a Ukrainian civilian from Ukraine. Razygrin drafted and signed a deportation order, which Opryshko then approved. The man was forcibly taken to Russia and subsequently to the Russian-Latvian border.
The security service of Ukraine believes that the two de facto officials organised the forced deportation of residents from the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region to the Rostov region, and then onward to the northwestern Russian border with Latvia.
Investigators claim that this was part of a tactic to create artificial migration pressure on EU countries. People were forced to walk to Latvian border checkpoints, posing as refugees seeking EU entry. Those who resisted were threatened with execution and reprisals against family members remaining in occupied Ukrainian territory.
According to the indictment, on October 11, 2023, occupying forces broke into the house of a 64-year-old resident of the town of Polohy and announced his deportation.
The Register of Court Decisions cite the victim’s testimony in court, stating, that “an individual he believes to be a collaborator informed the occupation authorities of his [victim’s] pro-Ukrainian views. Following these accusations and rumours, agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrived at his home, interrogated him and seized his identification papers”.
The man was informed that he represented a danger to the Russian Federation. He was subsequently detained for four days at an undisclosed location in Polohy, before being transferred to Melitopol where he was beaten.
On October 16, 2023, Razygrin signed a deportation order, which was approved by Opryshko.
Following this, the victim was transported to the Don deportation centre in Russia’s Rostov region. From there, in November, he was moved to the Ubylinka border crossing in the Pskov region and forcibly made to walk into Latvia.
“On the day of his transfer, people entered his chamber, seized him and transported towards the EU border. The journey took approximately a day. At the border, he was directed towards the EU and forced to cross,” the court ruling stated.
The victim’s wife testified in court as a witness. She stated that before the full-scale invasion she lived with her husband in Polohy, where they were farmers. On July 10, 2022, she moved to the city of Zaporizhzhia for medical treatment and has resided there since. Her husband remained in Polohy to manage their household.
On November 1, 2022, the woman received a call from her husband who informed her he was to be deported. The next day, the man was deported to Latvia. His passport was stamped Entry Denied by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
A court concluded that there were no legitimate grounds for the deportation of the Ukrainian citizen from occupied territory and that it was not carried out to ensure public safety or for other significant military reasons.
The defence did not claim to be aware of any such reasons. Consequently, the court classified the actions of the accused as violations of the laws and customs of war under Part 2, Article 28, Part 1, Article 438 of the criminal code of Ukraine.
On February 26, the Kommunarskyi district court of Zaporizhzhia delivered the verdict, finding Opryshko and Razygrin guilty and sentencing them in absentia to ten years in prison.
The defence has 30 days to file an appeal. If the verdict is not challenged, the convicted individuals will serve their sentences after their arrest.
