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Russia-Backed Court Sentences Three Azov Brigade POWs to Nearly 24 Years in Prison

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
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Russia-Backed Court Sentences Three Azov Brigade POWs to Nearly 24 Years in Prison
Ukrainian soldiers during the so-called “court” trial in Donetsk. (Source: Investigative Committee of Russia)

A court in Russian-occupied Donetsk sentenced three Ukrainian prisoners of war to nearly 24 years in a penal colony, Ukrainian media Novyny Donbas reported on April 16.

The so-called “Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR)” sentenced National Guard servicemen from the Azov Regiment — Vladyslav Ruchko, Andrii Yaroschynskyi, and Dmytro Ihnatenko — to prison terms ranging from 23 years and 9 months to 24 years, according to Russian state sources.

The court, operating under Russia’s judicial system in occupied Donetsk, convicted the men on charges of “cruel treatment of civilians” and “murder motivated by political and ideological hatred.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee claims the alleged incident took place in March 2022 during the siege of Mariupol. According to the investigation, Ukrainian soldiers reportedly fired a mortar at a grain warehouse where civilians were sheltering, killing one person.

Ruchko and Yaroschynskyi were each sentenced to 24 years, while Ihnatenko received 23 years and 9 months. All three were ordered to serve their terms in high-security penal colonies.

Previously, on March 26, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don in Russia sentenced 23 Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian support staff associated with the Azov Brigade to lengthy prison terms, with charges ranging from violent seizure of power to terrorism-related offenses.

The court’s decision included both in-person and in-absentia verdicts.

Earlier, a Moscow court ordered US citizen Joseph Tater to be committed to a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment after he was accused of assaulting a police officer last year.

The judge ruled that Tater was unfit to stand trial and granted a prosecution request for him to undergo involuntary treatment at a specialized psychiatric facility.

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