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In 2014, Lemeshchenko moved from the Russian city of Voronezh to Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine with her husband and son. ... In the spring of 2024, the athlete underwent training in shooting, drone control, and the manufacture of explosives in Kyiv. She then traveled to Russia via third countries. In October, Lemeshchenko blew up power line towers near St. Petersburg, and then monitored Colonel Alexei Loboda, the commander of an airbase in Voronezh, who is linked to the bombing of Kharkiv. The saboteur was arrested in January 2025. Lemeshchenko did not deny the facts of the charges, but said that she did not consider herself guilty “from a moral point of view.”
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Here is the closing statement of Yulia Lemeshchenko in court.
As you can see, I don’t have any notes, I haven’t really prepared, but I think I’ll improvise. I will probably repeat some of the things I have already said during the hearings, but let this be a kind of summary in a general monologue.
So, as I’ve already said, in any war, there is a clash between sides, and each side defends its own truth, its own justice. I’ve taken a side. I am not a citizen of the country I have decided to fight for. Nevertheless, I consider Ukraine my home. I love this country, I love Kharkiv infinitely.
There‘s a district in Kharkiv called North Saltivka. About 500,000 people lived there, half a million. Some of my acquaintances lived there, including my hairdresser. After Russian shelling and bombing, not a single building in this district remains intact. Not a single one. I’m not just talking about broken windows—I’m talking about entire parts of buildings that have collapsed.
There were explosions right next to my house. My neighbor Anya lived on the first floor with her four-year-old son Nikita. A shell exploded right under their windows, under the first floor. The apartment was completely destroyed. I don’t know what happened to Anya and her son Nikita. I still don’t know if they are alive or not.
In this war, I lost friends, one relative—my second cousin—and my colleagues. War is terrible. I couldn’t just stand by and watch. In any war, people who find themselves involved in it either try to fight or run away. I don’t know, maybe they run away because of cowardice or weakness. I don’t consider myself a cowardly or weak person. I decided to fight against this—against Russian military aggression.
Perhaps what I’m saying is making my situation worse, but my honor and conscience are more important to me. I did what I thought was necessary within my power. Regret, remorse—well, maybe on my deathbed. But for now, everything is as it is. That’s it, I have nothing more to add. Thank you.
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