Published on 08/10/2026 – 0:45 GMT+2
A 68-year-old Russian man who crossed the Nemunas River from Kaliningrad to Lithuania in a bid to obtain asylum has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in a maximum‑security penal colony, Lithuanian outlet Lrytas reports.
He will also be prohibited from managing websites or online channels for three years after his release.
The convicted man, identified as Igor Yuryevich Odintsov by Russian media, was found guilty by the Baltic Fleet Military Court of “publicly justifying terrorism”. According to the court’s press release, he holds a “negative attitude towards the state authorities of the Russian Federation” and opposes Moscow’s war in Ukraine, which the Russian government describes as a “special military operation”.
Court proceedings were halted on 17 September after Odintsov went into hiding. Russian news site ruwest.ru noted that the same day he swam across the Nemunas and reached Lithuanian territory.
Sigitas Šamborskis, head of the Lithuanian community in Kaliningrad, told Lrytas he knew Odintsov and believed the swimmer was attempting to escape persecution. “He had a case opened against him, which is why he swam across the Nemunas. He wanted to save himself,” Šamborskis said.
Odintsov reportedly told Lithuanian border officials that he fled Russia due to persecution for his social‑media activity. However, after reviewing the case, Lithuanian authorities found the information “inconsistent” and considered the risk he might pose if admitted to the EU, leading to his return, according to Giedrius Mišutis, a spokesman for Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, who commented last month.
Šamborskis added that Lithuania lacked sufficient legal grounds to retain him because the Russian court proceedings were not yet finalized.
Odintsov was arrested on 21 September, four days after his arrival, and the court issued its verdict at the following hearing on 30 September.