In Russia, a Record Sentence Is Imposed on an Activist Who Helped Ukrainian Refugees Return Home

‘My primary goal is not to be free, but to remain human’. A Russian volunteer sentenced to 22 years in prison for helping Ukrainian refugees delivers her closing statement in court — Novaya Gazeta Europe

In February 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Nadezhda Rossinskaya, a photographer from the Russian border region of Belgorod, agreed to shelter some acquaintances fleeing war-torn Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. But what began as a simple act of compassion quickly grew into an enterprise helping displaced people — and would ultimately land her with a 22-year sentence for treason.