Russia illegally sentences 9 Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol
Photo: 9 Mariupol defenders were convicted by the Russian occupiers (“DPR prosecutor's office”)
In Russian-occupied Donetsk, the so-called Donetsk People's Republic court convicted 9 Ukrainian soldiers who defended Mariupol at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, according to the Mariupol City Council.
Ukrainian defenders, who were on the territory of the Azovstal steel plant and were taken prisoner by Russia, were accused of shelling the village of Staryi Krym in March 2022.
Russians sentenced the Ukrainian servicemen to 24 years in prison to life in prison.
Ukrainian defenders illegally convicted by the Russian occupiers belong to the 36th Separate Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Among them: Andrii Shestak, Nazarii Moroz, Vladyslav Yavorskyi, Vadym Shulha, Serhii Yampolskyi, Maksym Kolbasin, Dmytro Shalara, Volodymyr Penzin and Kostiantyn Romaniuk.
Russian occupiers also said that the Ukrainian defenders would serve their sentences in a maximum security colony.
Russian occupation of Mariupol
Mariupol became one of the most destroyed and affected cities in Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The occupation of Mariupol has been ongoing since May 2022, when Russian troops seized the city after a brutal siege that was accompanied by massive destruction and a humanitarian catastrophe.
Mariupol has become one of the cities where Russians have committed the largest number of war crimes against the people of Ukraine.
The defenders of Mariupol, including the Azov Regiment soldiers stationed at Azovstal, defended the city to the last. In May, the General Staff of Ukraine ordered a retreat from their positions.
