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Vitaly Gruzinov
Military
1977-07-16
Imprisoned
Biography
Known in Ukraine as a journalist and activist under the pseudonym Kozak Vedmenko. Grenade launcher, served in the Ukrainian Aidar battalion. He was taken prisoner in the spring of 2022 and was in the occupied territory of Donetsk region of Ukraine. He was charged under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. After the Russian Federation declared the DPR part of its territory, the charges were reclassified in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: Gruzinov was accused of participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation, forcible seizure of power
Known in Ukraine as a journalist and activist under the pseudonym Kozak Vedmenko. Grenade launcher, served in the Ukrainian Aidar battalion. He was taken prisoner in the spring of 2022 and was in the occupied territory of Donetsk region of Ukraine. He was charged under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. After the Russian Federation declared the DPR part of its territory, the charges were reclassified in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: Gruzinov was accused of participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation, forcible seizure of power and receiving training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities. Human rights activists note that he is a prisoner of war, so he should not have been held criminally liable for actually participating in hostilities, and in addition, they consider the charges absurd. On 17 October 2025, Gruzinov was sentenced to 21 years in a strict regime colony.