A Russian teen got 15 years in prison for donating crypto to a pro-Ukraine paramilitary unit: report

As the Ukraine war rages on, Russia has been charging citizens donating to pro-Ukrainian groups with treason, which can now carry up to life in prison.

A Russian 19-year-old was sentenced to 15 years in prison for donating to a pro-Ukrainian paramilitary unit, independent outlet Mediazona reported.

Danila Yakovlev, from Biysk, a city in the Altai Krai border region, was also fined 100,000 rubles, or about $1,082, and is set to serve 13 years of his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony, per the outlet.

An unnamed source familiar with Yakovlev’s case told the outlet that Yakovlev had donated a “very small amount” of about 5,000 rubles, or $54.

Russian security services said they arrested a 19-year-old in January on the accusation of sending money to an anti-Kremlin organization.

The FSB did not publicize his name at the time, but a video of the arrest circulating online showed Yakovlev saying his name as agents detained him. Russian daily Kommersant reported at the time that the teen had tried sending the funds via cryptocurrency.

It also reported that the beneficiary organization was the Freedom of Russia Legion, a paramilitary group that has repeatedly attacked and sabotaged military assets within Russian borders for Ukraine’s cause.

The Russian Supreme Court has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

After Yakovlev’s arrest in January, footage emerged online of federal agents entering an apartment to detain a young man, who identifies himself in the video as the 19-year-old.

Court records don’t provide details on Yakovlev’s punishment but show that he was sentenced on September 20 in Russia’s 2nd Eastern Military District Court after several hearings in the last two months.

Yakovlev was found guilty of treason and financing terrorism, the records show.

Mediazona reported that Yakovlev originally faced charges for multiple attempts to finance terrorism, but that several were dropped because many of his transactions had failed.

Yakovlev isn’t the first Russian citizen to be sentenced to over 10 years in prison for donating to pro-Ukraine groups.

In August, 33-year-old amateur ballerina Ksenia Khavana was reported by Russian media to have been sentenced to 12 years in prison for donating $51 to a charity supporting Ukraine.

Their cases come after Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a law in April 2023, increasing the maximum sentence for treason from 20 years to life in prison.