Two Britons and a Moroccan were shot dead Thursday after Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine fought on the Ukrainian side.
The Supreme Court in the Donetsk People’s Republic has found the death penalty a crime in the republic recognized only by Russia – and just days before the invasion in February, found men guilty of attempting to violently overthrow power. They were convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism.
Aidan Aslin, Shawn then and Saudun Brahim have a month to appeal.
“The verdict of the accused is based on the evidence provided by the prosecution and does not count the defendants pleading guilty in all respects,” Judge Alexander Nichols told reporters.
Prosecutors said all three militants were “mercenaries” and were not entitled to the same protection as prisoners of war. The families of Aslin and later claim that the men have been living in Ukraine since 2018 and have served in the Ukrainian army “for a long time”.
Then and Aslin surrendered to pro-Russian forces in the southern port city of Mariupol in mid-April, while Brahim surrendered in mid-March in the eastern city of Volnovoka.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the decision “completely illegal.”
“I strongly condemn the sentencing of Aidan Aslin and Shawn later to death by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine. They are prisoners of war,” he said in a statement. “My thoughts are with the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them.
Andrew Hill, another British fighter captured by pro-Russian forces, is awaiting trial.
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Recent developments:
The United Nations says war-torn supply disruptions in Ukraine could increase the number of “severely malnourished people” by 47 million this year. Warned in a new statement.
The resolution urging NATO to expedite the recognition of Finland and Sweden in the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday was easily passed. Turkey has suspended applications, saying it opposes the two countries’ positions on certain Kurdish groups labeled by the Turks as terrorists.
The Russians, who have occupied the southeastern city of Melidopol, are looking for freezers and industrial refrigerators after the city’s meat factory was converted into a morgue filled with Russian bodies. This week Aron-M LLC said its refrigerators would “be used for free to protect the bodies of fallen veterans”.
Senior members of the European Parliament’s Parliament are urging EU leaders to make Ukraine and neighboring Moldova official candidates for joining the 27-nation bloc. In recent years, the parliament has blocked Ukraine’s candidacy, citing widespread corruption.
President Joe Biden plans to visit European allies Germany and Spain this month in a bid to unite the coalition opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Putin says companies leaving Russia regret this decision
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he was “sorry” that foreign companies had left Russia.
“They will be upset, not because we are threatening anyone. They will be upset because Russia is a country with great potential,” Putin told a meeting of young entrepreneurs in Moscow.
Many major companies have stopped trading in Russia McDonald’s, General Motors, General Electric and Starbucks.
In the same speech on Thursday, Putin compared himself to Russian King Peter the Great, who founded St. Petersburg, while emphasizing Russia’s sovereignty and the need for Moscow to defend itself.
“What was (Peter the Great) doing? Withdrawal and strengthening. That’s what he did. Withdrawal and strengthening seems to have fallen on us, ”he said.
In some parts of Ukraine, children play in abandoned battle tanks
More than three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the remnants of the war have become a very permanent part of the daily lives of Ukrainian citizens. Photographs show spectators stopping to inspect broken military vehicles. Some allowed their dogs, sheep, and children to play on abandoned battle tanks on the streets of Kiev and in bombed-out areas. See photos here.
Olya Ovsoruk told a kindergarten teacher before the invasion: “Look at the vehicles the monsters rode and what was left of them.” “There is no doubt in my mind that this is a scene of death.
– Camille Fine
‘Endless Caravan of Death’ at Mariupol
The real human cost of the Russian siege of Mariupol was revealed on Thursday, with rescue workers extracting hundreds of bodies from the rubble of bombed buildings across the Ukrainian port city. Fifty to 100 bodies were found in several buildings, city officials said. Mayor Pedro Andriyushchenko told the Telegram Processor that the bodies were being transported to the morgue, terrain and other places in an “endless death caravan”.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that at least 21,000 civilians were killed during the weeks-long Russian siege. The Kremlin claimed to have used precision strikes centered on military targets, but many cities were devastated by the endless bombings as Russian forces used their long-range strike effect to strike Ukraine relatively indiscriminately.
Officials say there are now less than 100,000 people living in Mariupol, where 450,000 people once lived. It is completely occupied by Russian troops.
Estimates of troop casualties vary, but the cost of war is high
As both sides suffer heavy casualties, war is raging. The Ukrainian military says it has “disarmed” more than 30,000 Russian troops since the February 24 invasion. Russia has not said much about troop casualties in recent weeks. Defense Minister Olekshi Resnikov said in a statement Facebook post Up to 100 Ukrainian troops are killed and up to 500 wounded every day on Thursday. This translates to more than 15,000 Ukrainian troop deaths and 50,000 injuries – not to mention the thousands of civilian lives lost.
“Unlike many, we have proved that we are not afraid of the Kremlin. But as a nation we can not afford to bleed and lose our best sons and daughters,” Resnikov wrote.
Olga Oligar, director of a crisis group for an NGO, Told the Guardian “Both sides are vying to be the last army.”
Moscow’s chief rabbi deported for refusing to support the invasion
Moscow’s chief rabbi has been deported after Russian officials demanded that he publicly support the war in Ukraine. Rabbi Pinchas Goldsmith flew to Hungary in early March to raise money for refugees and did not return to Russia, his daughter – in – law Avital Sisik-Goldsmith in New York said. In a Twitter post. He said his mother-in-law was raising funds for refugees in Eastern Europe and later met his grandfather at a Jerusalem hospital. Pinzas Goldsmith was re-elected this week as Moscow’s chief rabbi after missing another seven-year term.
“Finally my mother-in-law, the Moscow Chief Rabbi @PinchasRabbi & Rebbetzin Dara Goldschmidt, can share the pressure exerted by the authorities to publicly support ‘special action’ in Ukraine – and refused,” he tweeted. “They have been deported from the community they have loved, built and nurtured their children for over 33 years now.”
Contribution:Deirdre Shesgreen, USA Today; Associated Press
