Life imprisonment and 30 years in jail: illegal Donetsk court sentences three Ukrainian servicemen

This was reported by Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

The head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense service, Oleh Kolmychevskyi, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Two soldiers from the 56th Detached Mechanized Brigade – grenade launcher Dmytro Dobrovolskyi and gunner Oleksandr Romashyn – were sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

"I emphasize once again that the sentences announced are carried out by quasi-entities unrecognized by the international community and are illegal. Such a "trial" is a violation of the right to a fair trial and another war crime by Russia," Lubinets said.

The Ombudsman emphasizes that such "sentences" are a gross violation of the Third Geneva Convention in terms of the right of prisoners to a fair trial and the prevention of torture, and therefore can be considered a war crime.

"Donetsk region is a part of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders and is subject to the jurisdiction of Ukrainian courts. Only they have the right to administer justice on this territory," the Ombudsman added.

• Earlier, the so-called court of the terrorist DPR sentenced two Ukrainian marines, Volodymyr Papitsevych and Yevhen Vakhnenko, to 22 years in maximum security: they were accused of allegedly killing a civilian in Mariupol.

• The so-called supreme court of the terrorist Donetsk People's Republic sentenced two Ukrainian servicemen to 22 and 25 years in a maximum security prison.