Russia jails two more captive Ukrainian soldiers

Russia said Thursday it had sentenced two more Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the city of Mariupol to jail, as it continued to put dozens of captive soldiers on trial. (AFP/File)

• Ukrainian soldiers Roman Andrienko and Volodymyr Gorbatyuk were found guilty of shooting at a car carrying civilians in Mariupol
• The Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s Donetsk region sentenced them both to 26 years prison

MOSCOW: Russia said Thursday it had sentenced two more Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the city of Mariupol to jail, as it continued to put dozens of captive soldiers on trial.
Thousands of Ukrainian fighters were taken prisoner after Russia seized control of Mariupol last May, some of whom were sent to Russia or tried by Moscow-backed courts in occupied east Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers Roman Andrienko and Volodymyr Gorbatyuk were found guilty of shooting at a car carrying civilians in Mariupol, killing one man, Moscow’s Investigative Committee said.
It said the Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which Moscow refers to as the Donetsk People’s Republic, sentenced them both to 26 years prison.
“Andrienko and Gorbatyuk pleaded guilty in full and repented of their actions,” it said.
Their sentences came after the same court jailed three captured Ukrainian troops on Wednesday, and three more to life imprisonment the day before.
Rights groups and Western countries have criticized Moscow for holding trials against captured Ukrainian soldiers, which have taken place in occupied Ukrainian territory or Russia itself.