The verdict was handed down today by the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), as the authorities call the region. But according to local media, captured fighters Shaun Pinner, Aiden Aslin and Moroccan Ibrahim Saadun are not being executed.
The three convicts were charged with “terrorism” and fighting as “mercenaries” against the Russian invasion. The soldiers were serving in the Ukrainian army and taking part in the defense of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant when they were captured, according to The Guardian.
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They argued that they should be treated as prisoners of war. After the verdict, they announced that they would appeal the decision, reports TASS news agency.
Force Prisoner Swap
The three convicts are the first soldiers to be tried by pro-Russian separatists since the Russian invasion on February 24. According to observers, the sentence is mainly intended to force the exchange of captured Russian soldiers who have been tried in Ukraine.
Ukraine has convicted three Russian soldiers for war crimes. A soldier was given a life sentence for killing a civilian. Two other soldiers were each sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for shelling civilian targets.
Earlier we made this video about the evacuation from the besieged Azovstal steel factory:
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