Zabavsky lived in Kharkiv. In September 2022, he went to the Russian-occupied village of Tavolzhanka in the Kupyansk district to take his mother out.
Transmits to UNN with reference to Current Time and Mediazone.
The St. Petersburg City Court sentenced 29-year-old Ukrainian Ivan Zabavsky to 11 years in a strict regime colony, finding him guilty in the case of espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code).
The following is known about the Ukrainian citizen against whom the Russian court considered the case on espionage:
Ivan Zabavsky lived in Kharkiv and worked in a shawarma cafe. In September 2022, he went to the Russian-occupied village of Tavolzhanka in the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv region to take his mother, Maryna Zabavska, out of the city.
After Russian troops approached the village, the woman decided to leave for the Belgorod region, but Zabavsky did not know about it, as he had no contact with his family at the time.
He decided to go to the village as a driver with a load of humanitarian aid, as other vehicles were not allowed to enter the frontline zone.
Zabavsky was detained by the occupiers and placed in a prisoner of war camp in Staryi Oskol, where he was tortured.
The Ministry of Defense informed Maryna Zabavska about the detention in May 2023.
In June 2023, the Petrograd District Court of St. Petersburg sent the Ukrainian to a pre-trial detention center in a case of espionage.
The court only began to consider Zabavsky's case on espionage charges in the summer of 2024. The trial was held in a closed session, and the details of the charges are unknown. The prosecutor asked to sentence the Ukrainian to 13 years in prison.