Detention: On August 12, 2017, FSB officers detained Ukrainian citizen Hennadiy Limeshko in occupied Crimea near the Sudak – Novyi Svit highway. The Russian security service claimed he was allegedly an 'SBU agent' preparing a series of sabotage acts on the peninsula's infrastructure. The Security Service of Ukraine called these accusations a provocation.

Sentence: On May 10, 2018, the Russia-controlled Sudak City Court sentenced Hennadiy Limeshko to 8 years in prison on charges of illegal acquisition, storage, and transportation of weapons, explosives, and making an explosive device. In August 2018, the Russia-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea upheld the sentence. After serving the full term in February 2025, Limeshko was not released but transferred to a Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Nationals. In July 2025, he was added to the Russian list of 'terrorists and extremists,' and on July 30, 2025, a court in the Stavropol Krai of Russia issued a new sentence: 2 years in a strict regime colony for alleged 'calls to extremism.'

Hennadiy Limeshko was born on December 27, 1992. Before his detention, he lived in mainland Ukraine. It is known that in 2016 he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under contract. According to human rights defenders, he was discharged from service in 2017. Limeshko is married and has a child with his wife, Iryna. According to his relatives, he went to Crimea in the summer of 2017 to earn money. It was during his stay on the occupied peninsula that FSB officers detained him.

After the detention, the Russian side released video recordings of Limeshko's so-called interrogation and claimed to have prevented a series of sabotage acts in Crimea. The FSB alleged that the Ukrainian intended to damage power lines, provoke landslides on roads, and set fire to forests and dumps. He was also declared an 'SBU agent.' Meanwhile, Ukrainian state bodies categorically rejected these accusations.

The trial took place under the conditions of Crimea's occupation and did not meet international standards of fair trial. In May 2018, the Kremlin-controlled court in Sudak found Hennadiy Limeshko guilty under several articles of Russian criminal law related to weapons and explosives. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Later, the appellate instance upheld this sentence.

During his imprisonment, there were reports of health problems for the political prisoner. In 2019, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, reported a deterioration in his condition. According to her, Limeshko developed serious skin problems, with wounds appearing on his hands, legs, and elbows. Ukrainian human rights defenders repeatedly drew the international community's attention to the need for monitoring his detention conditions and ensuring proper medical care.

Concerns were raised about Limeshko's conditions in Russian correctional facilities ahead of the completion of his sentence. According to human rights defenders, he was held in solitary confinement for a long time. Despite formally serving his entire sentence on February 21, 2025, he was not released. Instead, he was transported under convoy to a Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Nationals in the Rostov region of Russia. The reason cited was an issue with his Ukrainian passport: while in prison, Limeshko reached the age requiring a new photo to be attached, which could not be done under detention conditions. Russian authorities used this circumstance as a basis for further detention.

After his stay in the center for foreigners, contact with him was lost. His wife, Iryna, informed human rights defenders that there was no information about his whereabouts. Various sources speculated that he might have been transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Pyatigorsk in connection with a new criminal case. Meanwhile, the Russian side did not provide official information for a long time.

An additional signal of new persecution was Hennadiy Limeshko's inclusion in the Russian list of 'terrorists and extremists.' Human rights defenders expressed fears that another criminal case had been opened against him, allowing for continued detention even after serving the previous sentence. These fears were confirmed in the summer of 2025.

On July 30, 2025, the Kursk District Court of Stavropol Krai, Russia, issued a new sentence to Hennadiy Limeshko. He was found guilty of allegedly public calls for extremist activity on the internet and sentenced to two years in a strict regime colony. Human rights organizations emphasized that the new case was a continuation of political repression against Ukrainian citizens and effectively prevented his return home after eight years of unlawful imprisonment.

Information used from open sources: CrimeaSOS, Ukrinform, Suspilne Crimea, Radio Liberty (Crimea.Realities), Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners.

Photo: Suspilne Crimea.

Date updated: 18.07.2026.