Zolotarenko Maksim Sergeevich (Zolotarenko Maksim Sergiyovich)

Four citizens of Ukraine, military personnel of military unit A-3425 (61st separate mechanized brigade) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, were taken prisoner by Russian military personnel as a result of a storming near the village of Cherkasskaya Konopelka in the Kursk region on December 29, 2024: 53-year-old medical shooter, junior sergeant Alexey Babenko, 35-year-old shooter, senior soldier Maxim Zolotarenko, 28-year-old soldier Bogdan Didok, and 35-year-old gunner soldier Roman Zhmuydin. Criminal charges were brought against them for committing a terrorist act by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, resulting in significant damage. According to the Russian investigation, at different times in 2024, Babenko, Zolotarenko, Didok and Zhmuydin, armed with automatic weapons with ammunition, as well as hand grenades, together with their fellow servicemen, illegally invaded the territory of the Russian Federation. Acting with the aim of intimidating the local population, as well as disrupting the activities of state authorities and local self-government bodies, they jointly with other Ukrainian military personnel participated in the armed blockade of the settlement of Goncharovka in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region. At the direction of the higher command in November-December 2024, Babenko, Zolotarenko, Didok and Zhmuydin relocated to the village of Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Sudzhansky district, Kursk region, which they held under illegal armed control." On July 9, 2025, the 2nd Western District Military Court found the defendants guilty and sentenced Alexey Babenko to 17 years, Bogdan Didok and Roman Zhmuydin to 16 years, and Maxim Zolotarenko to 15 years in prison, with the first 3 years to be served in prison, and the rest in a strict regime correctional colony. The verdict was not appealed and entered into legal force.