Russian Soldier Charged with Treason After Capture, Exchange from Ukraine

Ruslan Chapparov, a 34-year-old Russian soldier, faces charges of treason and attempted desertion following his capture by Ukrainian forces in February 2025 and return to Russia through a prisoner exchange in June 2025. The criminal case was filed with Russia's Southern Military District Court in September 2026.

According to the Ukrainian database project "Hochu Nayti" (I Want to Find), Chapparov was captured in February 2025 and returned to Russia on June 26, 2025, as part of an exchange classified as involving "seriously wounded and seriously ill" detainees. The specific actions that investigators classify as treason remain undisclosed.

Before his military service, Chapparov had a criminal history in Omsk Oblast. Court records show convictions for attempted theft, cultivation and possession of wild cannabis, and robbery. In 2021, he received a seven-year sentence in a strict-regime penal colony in Novosibirsk Oblast for group robbery with a knife, with an additional two months added for causing minor bodily harm. According to available information, Chapparov signed a contract with Russia's Defence Ministry while imprisoned and was subsequently deployed to Ukraine as a rifleman.

The case is notable as one of the first prosecutions in Russia for voluntary surrender to enemy forces. In April 2024, a court in Sakhalin Oblast sentenced Roman Ivanishin to 15 years in prison in what was identified as Russia's first case specifically addressing voluntary surrender to enemy captivity.