Court convicts 10 Ukrainian residents who joined Russian brigades

A Ukrainian court handed down sentences of 15 years in prison to 10 individuals who served in Russian armed units. The Security Service of Ukraine announced the convictions on August 3. All 10 were apprehended by Ukrainian forces during battles in Pokrovsk, Kramatorsk, and Siversk regions. Seven of the defendants were residents of Donetsk Oblast, which is under Russian control, and had voluntarily joined various Russian motorized rifle brigades.

These fighters included riflemen, a flamethrower operator, and a driver who engaged in attacks on Ukrainian positions in Pokrovsk. Two others were residents of Luhansk Oblast and had signed contracts with Russia’s 7th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, serving as a driver and a rifleman respectively. They fought alongside Russian forces near Sievierodonetsk and assisted in fortification construction near Lysychansk before being redeployed to Siversk for an offensive against Ukrainian troops.

The tenth defendant, a Crimean native, served as a rifleman with Russia’s 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and was tasked with attacking Ukrainian positions near Kostiantynivka. All 10 were found guilty of high treason and collaboration with Russia, according to evidence gathered by the SBU. The investigation involved cooperation between SBU investigators in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office.

Additionally, a former deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in Alchevsk, Luhansk Oblast, was detained in Kyiv on July 17. She is suspected of treason for her collaboration with Russia. She had headed Alchevsk’s municipal education department under the now-banned Party of Regions during the early stages of Russia's invasion in 2014.

Following the Russian capture of the city, she allegedly became a "deputy mayor" of the Russian-occupied Luhansk People’s Republic.