The first ten. A Russian military court receives cases of foreigners fighting for the AFU in the Kursk region

In the ten new cases which Mediazona discovered, the defendants are accused of “mercenary activities” and“terrorist acts by a group of persons with grave consequences.” This is why they are being considered by a military court: in Russia, courts of this type hear and review cases relating to active service members and terrorism.

The 2nd Western District Military Court’s press service refused to disclose the names of the defendants. It’s also unknown if the trials will be held in absentia.

Earlier, Russia’s Investigative Committee reported on several cases against foreigners who fought on the side of Ukraine during the offensive in the Kursk region. At least one foreigner will be tried in person: British citizen James Scott Rhys Anderson, who was taken prisoner in late November.

According to press releases of the IC about the completion of the investigation, the following people will be tried in absentia: Annabelle Jorgensen (Denmark), Levan Beruashvili (Georgia), Robert Wertman, Derrick Bales, and Daniel Bernard Rebar (USA).

In addition, after the invasion of Kursk region, the IC reported on the initiation of cases against Michael Jones and Ryan O’Leary (USA), Jorge Adrian Lugo Jimenez and Christian Rodrigo Carvallo (Paraguay),  Šarūnas Jasiukevičius (Lithuania), Aslan Ocherhadzhiev (Norway), Lasha Chigdadze, Mikhail Baturin, and Alexi Bibichadze (Georgia). It is not known which of these cases have already been finalized and submitted to the court.

The first verdict in absentia in the case of mercenarism after the invasion of the Kursk region was handed down in the regional court back in December 2024. Then the court sentenced in absentia to 14 years in a maximum security prison New Zealander Jordan O’Brien, who, according to the investigation, illegally entered the Kursk region in August.