Russian teen Faces Harsh Punishment for Attempted Donation to Anti-Kremlin Group Fighting in Ukraine
A court in southern Siberia has sentenced 19-year-old Danila Yakovlev to 15 years in prison on charges of treason and financing terrorism, according to independent news outlet Mediazona.
Yakovlev, from Biysk in the Altai region, was found guilty of attempting to transfer money to the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Ukraine-based paramilitary group that opposes the Kremlin. Classified as a terrorist organization in Russia, the group consists of Russian citizens fighting alongside Ukraine’s military.
The court ordered Yakovlev to serve the first two years in prison and the remaining 13 years in a high-security penal colony. He was also fined 100,000 rubles (€970).
Though Yakovlev reportedly attempted to donate as little as 5,000 rubles (€48) across three failed transactions, the Altai region’s Federal Security Service arrested him in January. Footage of his arrest was later shared on local Telegram channels.
A source, speaking anonymously to Mediazona, said Yakovlev had little real-world interaction, describing him as an “oppressed personality type” who lived mostly online.
The Freedom of Russia Legion, formed in March 2022, has been actively opposing the Putin regime since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
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