The prosecution in the Poltava region requested 12 years in prison for two Russian military men. As follows from the broadcast from the courtroom on the website of the judiciary of Ukraine on May 26, the Russians Alexander Bobykin and Alexander Ivanov are accused of violating the laws and customs of war
“The decision will be announced on May 31 at about 11.00 (the time coincides with Moscow),” the judge said.
Earlier, on May 23, as part of another process, a court in Kyiv, the Solomensky District Court, sentenced a serviceman of the RF Armed Forces, Vadim Shishimarin, to life imprisonment. He was accused of violating the laws and customs of war. According to the investigation, Shishimarin is allegedly guilty of the murder of a civilian in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
On the same day, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, answering the question of whether there was a reaction to the awaiting sentence for the Russian military in Kyiv, stated that Russia did not have many opportunities to protect him in Ukraine on the spot, but measures would be taken through other channels .
At the same time, political scientist Pavel Danilin commented on the situation to Izvestia. In his opinion, in the trial of Shishimarin, the perpetrator and the measure of punishment were determined in advance. The political scientist referred to Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which covers 90% of the militants of the radical nationalist group Azov for torturing Russian prisoners of war, however, as Danilin notes, none of them was punished.
Russia continues the special operation to protect the Donbass, the beginning of which President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24. The key goals of the Russian military are the denazification and demilitarization of the Kyiv regime. This is necessary to ensure the security of the Russian state and people. Moscow also emphasized that it does not hatch plans for the occupation of Ukraine, and strikes are carried out only on military infrastructure. The situation in the region escalated in mid-February due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been carrying out a military operation against the residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état in Ukraine.