Artyomenko Pavel Vasilevich (Artemenko Pavlo Vasilovich)

In Mariupol, in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, no later than April 2022, members of the “Azov” battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard—28-year-old Pavel Artemenko and Anton Romanyuk—were taken prisoner by Russian forces. They were charged with the attempted murder of civilians as part of an organized group using methods posing a general danger to the public, motivated by ideological hostility, as well as with cruel treatment of the civilian population and the use of prohibited methods in armed conflict. The defendants were also charged with the intentional destruction of property belonging to others.

According to the Russian investigation, between February 27 and March 13, 2022, Artemenko and Romanyuk, while commanding a mortar battery during the retreat from the settlements of Sartana, Kalinovka, and Talakovka, gave orders to shell residential buildings and infrastructure facilities. Security forces claim that at least 60 rounds were fired at the buildings from a 120-mm mortar, resulting in five houses being destroyed or damaged. There were no civilian casualties, as people managed to take cover.

On August 16, 2023, the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic (the judge’s name is unknown) found Pavel Artemenko and Anton Romanyuk guilty. Each was sentenced to 24 years of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.

There is no information regarding an appeal of the verdict.

A criminal case was also brought against Pavel Artemenko for participation in a terrorist organization and undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities. The basis for the criminal prosecution was his service in the ranks of the nationalist “Azov” battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia.

On December 4, 2025, the Southern District Military Court found Pavel Artemenko guilty; the sentence is unknown.

On April 27, 2026, the Military Court of Appeals upheld the verdict.