Russian tanker who shot civilians in Mariupol jailed to 12 years

The press service of the Security Service of Ukraine reported on the court’s decision.

"Investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine established that as a T72 tank gunner operator, he fired at least 20 times at residential high-rise buildings in Mariupol. He was captured at the end of April near the village of Rivnopil in Donetsk region. The Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down his tank, and the wounded militant was taken prisoner," the report goes.

According to the information, during the investigation it was established that the tanker has had a "long career" in terrorist groups of the "DPR":

He joined the terrorists back in 2014, fought in “the 5th company of the 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 7th brigade of the 9th marine regiment of the "DPR" as a machine gunner, and was a gunner in the Somali, Chechen, and Pyatnashka battalions. Moreover, he served in the “financial and economic police” fake organization and in “the 2nd platoon of the 2nd company of the tank battalion of the 9th marine regiment of “DPR people's militia”. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, he officially joined the 8th army of Russian forces as a T72 tank gunner operator.