A volunteer who helped Ukrainian refugees in Kursk Oblast, a region in western Russia near the border with Ukraine, has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced 37-year-old volunteer Elena Yarisheva, who helped Ukrainian refugees in Kursk Oblast (western Russia, near the border with Ukraine), to five years in prison, reports the Politzek-Info project.

It is not known exactly when the verdict was delivered. On 31 July, the Appellate Military Court upheld the first-instance court’s decision.

It is also unclear when Yarisheva was detained. Her name appeared on Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “terrorists and extremists” at the end of August 2024. She is currently held in Kursk SIZO-1 (pre-trial detention centre).

Yarisheva was found guilty of inciting extremism (Part 2 Article 280 of the Criminal Code) and justifying terrorism (Part 2 Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). According to Politzek-Info, the case was triggered by the woman’s reposts on social media, but the content of those publications is not specified.

The project clarifies that relatives did not publicise the case, hoping for a less harsh sentence. Yarisheva’s loved ones believe the authorities became interested in her after she sent a package to Belgorod-based volunteer Aleksandr Demidenko, who was also helping Ukrainian refugees. At the end of 2023, Demidenko became the subject of a case on the illegal trafficking of explosive devices (Part 1 Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code). Five months later, Demidenko was found dead in his cell in the detention centre. The Federal Penitentiary Service claimed he had taken his own life.