Father of Uchkurov, a Sochi resident who went missing in the war zone, seeks compensation

Sochi resident Andrei Uchkurov, sentenced to ten years for the murder of a repeat offender, went to the combat zone himself, where he went missing. His family has not been able to obtain confirmation of his death or the compensation due.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, Sochi resident Andrei Uchkurov was sentenced to a long term for the murder of Andrei Charichansky, who was released after participating in a military operation. Uchkurov, although he admitted guilt, appealed the verdict, claiming that the court did not take mitigating circumstances into account. Uchkurov's acquaintances are sure that his actions were self-defense. The practice of releasing repeat offenders and those convicted of serious crimes after participating in military operations is dangerous, Sochi residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" said.

Andrei Uchkurov's father, a Sochi activist and former member of the Cossack squad Grigory Uchkurov, reported to the "Caucasian Knot" on August 21 that he had gone missing in the combat zone. According to Uchkurov, he learned about this from the head of the unit where his son served, having signed a contract with the Defense Ministry after the verdict. Uchkurov is trying to receive monetary compensation for the death of his son, along with his wife and young granddaughter, but, according to him, so far "there is no body, there is no case," and the military unit has not confirmed his death.

The lawyer of the convicted man told the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that Uchkurov's appeals against the sentence did not achieve a reduction in the term. After that, he "filed an application to be sent as a volunteer to Ukraine to the SVO, where he went in February 2025." According to the lawyer, he has not heard anything more about his client, since his work in the courts was finished.

According to Grigory Uchkurov, in February he personally sent his son to the combat zone from the railway station in Sochi.

“Neither he nor I had any money. He was traveling practically hungry, no one even fed them. I had three thousand rubles and I gave them to him so that I could buy him at least some food until he got there. He didn’t even have a phone, so he called me from other people’s phones and very briefly. I know that he was in Ukraine for only one month, after which he went missing. The last time he called was at the end of May and said that they had to storm the village of Verkhnekamenskoye, that he was being sent to his death. I realized that there was a conflict with the military leaders. I told him: “Son, you cannot kill Ukrainian prisoners and the wounded, it is illegal. If your military leaders force you to do this, then kill them. After that conversation, my son has not been in touch since then. I tried to look for him myself, but it was useless. I believe that my son was murdered, but I have no evidence of this and it is impossible to obtain it. “There is not even a body of my son and no one is returning him home,” says Uchkurov.

From a conversation with a representative of the unit, Uchkurov learned that the status of “missing in action” in 99.9% of cases means that the fighter is dead, but “it is impossible to confirm the fact yet.” Uchkurov admitted that he is hurt and upset because of the death of his only son, and that there is not even his body to bury. Uchkurov also said that he hopes to receive compensation. “I don’t know how much it will be, but the authorities should divide the amount due into three equal parts: me as a father, my wife and my son’s young child, and my granddaughter,” he said.

An independent lawyer involved in this case, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that the relatives of the missing person have no chance of receiving payments until the fact of death is officially established.

“The status of “missing in action” does not give the right to compensation for death his relatives until the fact of death is officially established. For the family, this means financial uncertainty and delayed payments until the court or authorities recognize the missing person as dead, but this is a very lengthy and not always successful procedure. The question of how many families of missing SVO participants have not received the compensation they are entitled to remains open, since there are no official statistics on this issue,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

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