A Moscow court has sentenced 48-year-old Georgian citizen Guram Beruashvili to 28 years in prison in absentia, accusing him of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
Based on a statement by the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office, Beruashvili was convicted on multiple criminal charges, including participation in an armed conflict as a mercenary, illegal border crossing, smuggling of firearms and ammunition, terrorist acts, and illegal possession and storage of weapons and ammunition.
“Taking into account the position of the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office, 48-year-old Georgian mercenary Guram Beruashvili was sentenced in absentia to 28 years in prison, the first eight years of which he must serve in prison, and the remaining time in a strict-regime colony,” the statement reads.
Russian media reports that the court determined that Beruashvili arrived in Ukraine in 2022, where he joined the Ukrainian armed forces in exchange for monetary compensation.
The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office alleged that in August 2024, Beruashvili, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition, crossed into the Kursk region of Russia and resisted Russian military personnel engaged in what Moscow describes as “lawful activities.”
The sentence was handed down in absentia, as Beruashvili remains outside Russian jurisdiction. Georgian authorities have not commented on the case.
Russia has in recent months intensified prosecutions in absentia of foreign fighters who participated in Ukraine’s defense, branding them as mercenaries or terrorists — a move widely criticized by Kyiv and human rights organizations as politically motivated.
