Kazakhstani court jails citizen for fighting alongside Wagner Group in Ukraine

A court in Satpayev, a city in Kazakhstan’s Ulytau region, has sentenced a Kazakhstani citizen to four years and six months in prison for participating in the war between Russia and Ukraine as a fighter for the Wagner private military company (PMC), according to the court’s press office.

Case materials reveal that in the fall of 2022, while in Zhezkazgan, the administrative center of the Ulytau region, the convict decided to join Wagner PMC. In November, he crossed the Kazakhstan border near Petropavlovsk and traveled to a training camp in Russia’s Krasnodar region, where he signed a contract. He was promised a monthly salary and compensation in case of death.

«When signing the contract, the convict was told that his monthly salary would be 240,000 rubles (approximately $2,500). In the event of his death, a compensation payment of 5 million rubles ($55,000) would be made to his friend,» the court report stated.

Between December 2022 and July 2023, the man served in a combat artillery unit as head of the artillery warehouse. In July 2023, he returned to Kazakhstan, where he was detained by law enforcement authorities.

At the trial, the defendant pleaded guilty. His involvement in military actions was proven by the evidence presented during the investigation, including search reports, financial transaction records and witness testimony.

The court found the man guilty under Article 172 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, which addresses participation in foreign armed conflicts. He was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment to be served in a medium-security facility.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan has initiated 46 criminal cases against its citizens for participating in foreign military conflicts, along with seven additional cases for mercenary activities.