Russia sentences ex-Zelenskyy adviser Arestovych to 11 years

A Russian military court has sentenced Oleksiy Arestovych, a former adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, to 11 years in prison in absentia after convicting him of making calls for terrorism and spreading what Russian authorities describe as false information about the Russian military.

The Second Western District Military Court issued the sentence, the court told TASS. The proceedings were conducted in absentia.

“Taken together, Arestovych has been finally sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the first three years to be served in prison and the remainder in a general-regime correctional colony. The court also banned him from engaging in activities related to administering websites and channels using electronic or information and telecommunications networks for four years,” the court said.

The sentence has not yet entered into force and may be challenged through an appeal.

Arestovych served as an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine before leaving the position in January 2023.

Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service, known as Rosfinmonitoring, has also placed Arestovych on its official list of individuals designated as terrorists and extremists.

By Tamilla Hasanova