The price of a few cents: Women in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine are being jailed for tiny payments to Ukraine
In March 2026, a Russian court sentenced 68-year-old Galina Bekhter, a resident of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, to 11 years in a penal colony in a case of “state treason.” The charge stemmed from a transfer made through a mobile app of a Ukrainian bank. According to Russian security services, the money was intended to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In recent months, such cases have become routine: prosecution for transfers through Ukrainian banks has become one of the pillars of repressive practice in the occupied territories. Criminal cases can be initiated over donations of as little $10, and the victims are most often elderly women. Even if the money was not sent directly to foundations assisting the Ukrainian army, Moscow’s law enforcement officials can still interpret any such transfer as constituting support for “the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
