Russia jails IT worker for 13 years for donating money to Ukraine

What the report says

A Russian military court has sentenced 49-year-old IT specialist Yuri Belenkiy to 13 years in prison after convicting him of financing “terrorism” over cryptocurrency donations linked to Ukrainian fundraising efforts, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters reporting cited in the article. The ruling was issued by the 2nd Western District Military Court on Monday in Moscow, with the court also imposing a fine and ordering a lengthy term in a strict-regime penal colony.

The report says Russian investigators built part of the case around transaction records that law enforcement documents show were shared by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Those documents, seen by Reuters, indicate the exchange provided Belenkiy’s transfer history in response to a Russian request. The case file alleged that between August 2022 and March 2024 he made 15 crypto transfers totaling more than 120,000 roubles to support Ukraine’s armed forces and the Azov battalion, which Russia lists as a terrorist group.

Belenkiy, described by state media as a former IT director, denied the charges and his defense plans to appeal, according to Russian outlets. He was detained in September 2025 when he traveled to Moscow, and he holds a Bulgarian residence permit. The case is significant because it highlights how Russian authorities are pursuing people over wartime donations and how cryptocurrency records can become evidence in such prosecutions.

Binance told Reuters it does not decide how governments use information in legal proceedings and does not comment on confidential law-enforcement requests. The company left Russia in 2023 after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions.