Moscow Court Rejects Jailed Former Deputy Defense Minister’s Bid to Fight in Ukraine
An appellate court in Moscow on Wednesday rejected former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov’s request to be sent to fight in eastern Ukraine after he was jailed for corruption. Ivanov, who was sentenced to 13 years, had sought a military contract for early release with two separate requests.
The Moscow City Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s ruling denying former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov’s bid to sign a military contract and fight in Ukraine in exchange for early release from his 13-year prison sentence for embezzlement and money laundering. Ivanov had appealed after a district court initially blocked his request.
According to the news outlet Ostorozhno Novosti, Ivanov did not attend the hearing. The Kommersant newspaper reported that Ivanov made two separate attempts to get to the front: first asking to serve with his rank of major, and later stating he was willing to deploy in any rank or role.
Signing a military contract is a common path for Russian convicts to secure early release in exchange for combat duty. The Defense Ministry and the military enlistment office had denied the deployment, and the Moscow City Court agreed.
Ivanov managed the Defense Ministry’s lucrative construction projects from 2016 until his arrest in April 2024. His high-profile arrest and trial marked the start of a sweeping corruption purge within the military command that saw several other senior officers sent to prison. Ivanov was widely seen as a close ally of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was ousted in May 2024 and appointed secretary of Russia’s Security Council.
