Categories: WAR NEWS

Seven Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers captured in Kursk region sentenced in Russia

A military court in the Russian Federation has sentenced seven Ukrainian soldiers, who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region, to prison terms ranging from 15 to 17 years. The verdicts were announced on Tuesday, April 8, by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee. All of them were found guilty in a case concerning terrorist attacks in the Kursk region (Part 2, Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code), as reported by Current Time.

Investigators claim that three servicemen—Oleksandr Kramarenko, Anatolii Savchuk, and Ruslan Fedoseiev—allegedly “intimidated the local population, illegally occupied private homes, and repeatedly opened fire with intent to kill Russian servicemen and local residents” in the villages of Pogrebki and Mala Loknia in the Sudzha district.

The other four Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers—Yevhen Butelskyi, Dmytro Strutynskyi, Oleksii Polenov, and Serhii Yeshchenko—“maintained armed control” over the villages of Vyetreno and Olhivka in the Korenivsky district, monitored Russian servicemen, “planted mines on roads and in local areas, and intimidated civilians,” according to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.

In Russia, a former “Aidar” fighter sentenced to 18 years in a high-security prison

Also on April 8, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a Ukrainian who fought in the “Aidar” battalion to 18 years in a high-security penal colony. RIA Novosti mentioned only his last name: Kosolap. According to case materials, he was detained in October 2023 at a checkpoint by officers of the Russian FSB in the Rostov region, though it remains unclear whether he was actually detained or abducted.

The FSB claims that in 2015, Kosolap allegedly joined the Aidar battalion in the Starobilsk district of Luhansk region. At the end of November of the same year, he left the battalion following his discharge.

Since “Aidar” is banned and recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia, Kosolap was charged under terrorism-related legislation after his detention and sentenced to 18 years in a high-security correctional facility.

Dmytro Shvarts