Following a public prosecution by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, four Ukrainian citizens were found guilty of high treason, participation in a terrorist organisation and activities of armed groups not provided for by law (Articles 111(1) and (2), 258-3(1), 260(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
They were each sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The prosecutor proved in court that the residents of Luhansk and a resident of Donetsk region voluntarily sided with the enemy in 2022. They joined the illegal armed groups of the ‘people’s police’ of the ‘LPR’ and ‘DNR’ terrorist organisations.
The men served in military formations that are part of the Russian Armed Forces. They were enlisted as platoon leaders, machine gunners, riflemen and grenade launchers.
The defendants underwent full military training and acquired skills in the use of weapons, mastered the tactics of combat, assault, attack, and retreat.
During the war, the platoon commander was responsible for the security of the Russian army’s deployment sites and carried out orders and instructions from the military leadership, which he subsequently communicated to his subordinate personnel.
The duties of the machine gunner, rifleman and grenade launcher included guarding the locations of the occupying country’s military personnel, their ammunition depots, guarding the territory, as well as arranging and fortifying the firing positions of the Russian Armed Forces for combat. In addition, the personnel were provided with food and drinking water and evacuated wounded servicemen of the aggressor state.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the fighting has been taking place in the settlements of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.
Their activities were suspended due to their detention by the Ukrainian Defence Forces.
The pre-trial and special pre-trial investigation was conducted by the SBU Office in Lviv region.