Russian invasion – Ukrainian prisoners of war were deprived of their freedom in Donetsk

In temporarily occupied Donetsk, the “court” sentenced to imprisonment three Ukrainian prisoners of war who participated in hostilities on the territory of Mariupol. The Investigative Committee of Russia reported this on November 1.

We are talking about Dmitry Dobrovolsky, Alexander Romashin, and Oleg Kolmychevsky. The first two “received” 30 years in prison, but the third serviceman was “sentenced” to life imprisonment.

The “department” noted that the Investigative Committee of Russia allegedly collected evidence that is sufficient to pass a verdict. Each of them was found guilty by the “court” of “cruel treatment of the civilian population, murder of two or more persons.” Moreover, the “court” believes that this was committed by an organized group, motivated by political and ideological hatred.

“The investigation and the court established that from February 24 to April 12, 2022, the personnel of the 37th separate motorized infantry battalion “Zaporozhye” of the 56th separate motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Kolmychevsky, Dobrovolsky and Romashin serving in it were located at combat positions in Mariupol. During this period At the time, Dobrovolsky and Romashin, on the orders of Kolmychevsky, detained and shot with automatic weapons and firearms civilians spotted near their combat positions,” the report says.

In total, seven men and one woman were allegedly killed, the “court” said.

The “court” in Donetsk sentenced the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters: Ukraine’s reaction

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets in his Telegram channel called the events that took place in occupied Donetsk illegal and this is not the first time this has happened.

“I emphasize once again that the announced sentences are carried out by quasi-entities unrecognized by the world community and are illegal. Such a “trial” is a violation of the right to a fair trial and another Russian war crime,” the ombudsman said.

Separately, Dmitry Lubinets noted that such sentences are a gross violation of the Geneva Convention. The Donetsk region within its administrative borders, including the regional center, is the territory of Ukraine, therefore they are subject to the jurisdiction of Ukrainian courts.

“Only they have the right to administer justice in this territory. The international community must increase pressure on the aggressor to stop the practice of convicting Ukrainian citizens by fake courts,” concluded Dmitry Lubinets.

Let us recall that on October 28 it was reported that the Russians “recruited” captured Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers into their “volunteer formations.” About 70 Ukrainian prisoners of war from various Russian colonies, according to American analysts, ended up in the so-called “volunteer” battalion “Bogdan Khmelnytsky”.