In early autumn 2023, Yulia Lemeshchenko stopped coming to the Kharkiv gym where she trained almost daily. A dedicated athlete who had become Ukraine’s weightlifting champion in 2021, her sudden absence puzzled her fellow trainees.
Months later, she appeared in a Moscow courtroom, accused by Russian prosecutors of planning sabotage and assassinations for Ukrainian security services. They alleged she had blown up power lines near St. Petersburg and had later traveled to Voronezh to surveil a Russian air force commander with the intent to kill him.
In November, she was sentenced to 19 years in prison. During the trial, she did not deny the accusations but stated her conscience was clear.
“Maybe my words are making my situation worse, but my honor and conscience mean more to me. I did what I believed was necessary,” she said in a brief final statement to the court, which was recorded and published on independent Russian news sites.
Russian authorities have systematically threatened, beaten, and tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war and other detainees accused of working for Ukraine. This means any alleged evidence or testimony obtained during detention in Russia must be viewed with skepticism. However, Lemeshchenko’s defiant words suggested there might be some truth to the charges in this instance.
The 42-year-old Lemeshchenko told the court about the devastating impact of the Russian invasion on her Kharkiv suburb and mentioned that friends of hers had died in the war. She said witnessing the destruction left her grappling with how to respond. “I don’t consider myself a coward or a weak person, so I decided to fight against Russian military aggression,” she stated.
Lemeshchenko is a Russian citizen, born and raised in Voronezh—the city where she was later arrested. According to those who knew her, she moved to Kharkiv with her husband and child in 2014. There, she took up powerlifting and quickly discovered her talent for the sport.
“She was driven, hardworking, trained intensely, and achieved real results,” said Oleksandr Chernyshov, head of the Kharkiv branch of Ukraine’s powerlifting federation.
In 2021, she won the Ukrainian championship. She aspired to compete internationally for Ukraine but first needed to obtain citizenship, a process she was pursuing when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. After the invasion began, she remained in Kharkiv, even purchasing an apartment there. Chernyshov recalled how the Saltivka district, where Lemeshchenko lived, was especially hard-hit, and how the death and destruction filled her with fury. He tried to assist her as she again sought Ukrainian citizenship, but she couldn’t overcome the bureaucratic obstacles.
Then she vanished. A few months later, she called her trainer, Dmytro Pavlenko, on his birthday. “I asked her where she went, and she said, ‘I’m in Kyiv, everything’s okay.’ I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ and she replied, ‘I’ll explain everything later,'” Pavlenko remembered.
In a statement released after the verdict, Russia’s FSB security agency claimed Lemeshchenko had volunteered to work for Ukrainian services through a Telegram chatbot in autumn 2023. They alleged she was then contacted, recruited, and taken to Kyiv for training in weapons, drones, and explosives.
“In August 2024, [she] was sent by the enemy to the city of Voronezh to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts against energy and transport infrastructure, as well as against personnel of the Russian ministry of defence,” the statement said.
The agency also released video of Lemeshchenko confessing, along with footage showing explosive liquids, aerosols, and burner phones allegedly found in her apartment. The Russian air force commander she was accused of targeting was also mentioned.She was implicated in the bombing of Kharkiv. Both the SBU security services and HUR military intelligence are believed to conduct sabotage and targeted assassinations on Russian soil. Several Russian military figures have been killed in such attacks, most notably a general in charge of a chemical weapons unit who died when his scooter exploded outside his apartment building.
Lemeshchenko’s Russian passport would have been a valuable asset for Ukrainian security services, helping her avoid the checks and “filtration” that Ukrainian citizens undergo when entering Russia.
“I am not a citizen of the country I decided to fight for, but I still consider Ukraine my home. I love the country, I love Kharkiv,” she told the court.
Her old friends and trainers are left questioning whether to believe the Russian accusations. “Nobody expected this—absolutely nobody. It was a shock for us all,” said Pavlenko. At first, he suspected a Russian set-up. Now he is less certain. “I guess I’ve come to accept that, perhaps, this really did happen,” he said.
Chernyshov, however, said he would not be surprised if the charges were true and viewed her decisions as a positive example for Ukrainians. “Could she have been capable of it? Absolutely. She was one of those people capable of great deeds. She was very pro-Ukrainian, more so than some Ukrainians. And she was as strong as a rock,” he said.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the case of the weightlifting champion imprisoned by Russia framed in a natural tone with direct answers
Basic Facts The Case
Who is the weightlifting champion imprisoned by Russia
Thats Oleksandr Pielieshenko a Ukrainian champion weightlifter who won gold at the 2016 European Championships and competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics
What exactly is he accused of
Russian authorities in occupied Ukraine charged him with planning sabotage and preparing assassinations on behalf of Ukraine They claim he was preparing to attack Russian military personnel and infrastructure
When and where was he arrested
He was arrested in April 2024 in his hometown of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region of Ukraine which is currently under Russian occupation
What has been the reaction from the sports community
The International Weightlifting Federation and the Ukrainian Weightlifting Federation have strongly condemned his detention calling it politically motivated and demanding his immediate release Many fellow athletes have voiced support
Context Motivations
Why would Russia target a sports star
Analysts believe its part of a broader pattern to suppress prominent Ukrainian figures in occupied territories using arrests to instill fear punish expressions of patriotism and allege terrorist plots to justify the war
Does he have any known military or political background
Publicly no He was known as a dedicated athlete After the 2022 invasion he did join the Ukrainian Armed Forces which is likely a key reason he was targeted
What is sabotage in this context
Under the broad and often vague Russian antiterrorism and treason laws used in occupied areas sabotage can encompass anything from sharing information to allegedly planning to damage military property
Legal Process Current Status
What is his current legal status
He is in pretrial detention Russias investigative committee has formally charged him and he is awaiting trial These trials in occupied territories are widely considered illegitimate and lack fair procedure
What could happen to him
If convicted on these charges he faces a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years or more in a Russian penal colony
Is there any chance of a prisoner swap
Yes prisoner exchanges occur regularly between Ukraine and Russia His status
