Vladislav Esipenko

A correspondent for the publication Krym.Realii. On March 10, 2021, Esipenko’s car was stopped by FSB officers, and during an inspection involving a service dog, a grenade was found in his vehicle. According to the official account, he was questioned and then released under the obligation to report to the FSB the next morning, which he did. However, Esipenko later stated that he was held and tortured overnight on March 10–11 in a basement in Bakhchisarai. On March 12, the court ordered his detention as part of a case concerning the manufacture and possession of explosives. Initially, Esipenko pleaded guilty but later withdrew his confession. On February 16, 2022, he was sentenced to six years in a general regime penal colony and fined 110,000 rubles. On August 18, the appellate court reduced the sentence to five years and the fine to 105,000 rubles. In October 2024, Esipenko’s wife told Krym.Realii that the colony was obstructing her husband’s parole. In June 2025, he was released from the colony and left Crimea.