A court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Sep. 3 sentenced Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Lyubas, who was reportedly captured while trying to land in occupied Crimea in late 2023, to 20 years in prison.
According to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, Lyubas was part of a small group of Ukrainian soldiers who attempted to conduct an amphibious operation on the peninsula and was captured in the process.
Lyubas was charged with illegally crossing the state border, arms smuggling, and preparing to commit a terrorist act.
In a statement at the court, Lyubas denied that he was a criminal or a terrorist.
"I am guilty only of being a soldier of the country in which I was born, lived and am a citizen of, as part of the mobilization I was called up to the army and carried out the orders of the commander. I never had the intention of causing harm to the civilian population (of Russia)."
Lyubas added that under international law, he should be considered a prisoner of war (POW) and be offered the associated legal protections.
Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers face trial in Russia.
Russia does not provide transparent access to its legal system, and international human rights organizations have long detailed rampant abuse in prisons, as well as the use of torture to coerce confessions.
Russia has also widely used the charge of supporting or planning "terrorism" as a means of suppressing any perceived dissent against the regime.
Kateryna Denisova
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