A Kharkiv man was sentenced to 11 years in prison in Russia for searching for his mother in occupied territory.

In Russia, the St. Petersburg City Court sentenced 29-year-old Ukrainian Ivan Zabavsky to 11 years in a high-security colony. He was accused of espionage, as reported by the Russian publication Mediazona.

It is stated that the Ukrainian was arrested in July 2022. Zabavsky lived in Kharkiv and worked in a café. His mother, Marina Zabavskaya, resided in Tavilyazhanka in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, which fell under occupation.

In the village, lived his husband's aunt — she was killed during shelling. When the Russian armed forces began approaching Tavilyazhanka, Marina Zabavskaya decided to flee to Russia.

Due to a lack of communication in the village, the young man was unaware of his mother’s fate. He decided to travel to Tavilyazhanka as a driver with humanitarian aid, since other vehicles were not allowed into the frontline area. Marina’s neighbors called her to inform that her son had been taken by the Russian occupiers.

The woman began searching for her son and only a year later received a response from the Russian Ministry of Defense stating that her son had been detained "for resisting the special military operation."

The court began reviewing Zabavsky's case on charges of espionage only in the summer of 2024. Court sessions were held behind closed doors. The specific allegations against the man remain unknown.

During the debates, the prosecutor requested a 13-year prison sentence for the Ukrainian.

The information portal of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group wrote that the mother of the Ukrainian searched for him across Russia for 9 months. She also found lawyers for her son, and they were even able to visit him in the pre-trial detention center and give him warm clothing.

"Vanya was very grateful, as he had been in the same clothes for eight months. A t-shirt and pants were what he wore when he was taken. However, he refused the help of the lawyers," Marina shared.

She believes he was forced to do so.

"In November, we were allowed to talk on the phone. Our conversation lasted 26 minutes. I understood, of course, that someone was nearby. He reassured me, asking how things were at home. In Petersburg, he is in the depths of hell, that’s the FSB office," the mother of the Ukrainian recounted.

According to Marina, the occupiers took not only her son in Tavilyazhanka. Many civilians have disappeared. Some are known to be in captivity, while others remain missing.

Let us recall that in Moscow, a teacher was tried for writing "Glory to Ukraine" on the board. For this act, the Russian court found the teacher guilty of "discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" and imposed a fine of 40,000 rubles.