OSCE staff member Maksym Petrov is deported to Russia

Maksym Petrov is a Ukrainian national, OSCE Special Monitoring Mission staff member, who worked as an interpreter. He was illegally detained in April 2022 and later unlawfully sentenced to 13 years for “treason against the LPR” – same as his colleague Dmytro Shabanov.

In 2025 their sentences were aligned with the Russian legislation. In March, Dmytro was transferred to Omsk, Russia.

It became known on July 31, that Maksym is now being transferred to Chelyabinsk from the detention facility in Luhansk oblast, as reported by Ievgeniia Kapalkina, ULAG’s lawyer who represents the families of Maksym and Dmytro.

During an already prolonged detention Maksym was subjected to torture, inhumane conditions of confinement and lack of medical treatment, causing a deteriorating effect on his health. A transfer across thousands kilometers to a high security penal colony can lead to fatal consequences for him.

It is also yet another grave violation of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (article 49), which prohibits the deportation of protected persons.

The news came on the same day that a high level conference took place in Helsinki to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act – a foundational document for the OSCE. Statements in support of Dmytro, Maksym, and Vadym Golda (who was also unlawfully detained in Donetsk in 2022 and later sentenced by Russia) were delivered by the OSCE Secretary General, participating States, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and others. 
Yet, despite these expressions of solidarity, injustice towards the Ukrainian OSCE staff members in violation of international law continues with an even greater force, underscoring the urgent need for a far stronger and more tangible response.