“Russia’s sham trial in Donbas of foreign citizens enlisted in Ukraine’s armed forces is null and void”

“Russia’s sham trial in Donbas of foreign citizens enlisted in Ukraine’s armed forces, and aid worker is null and void,” stated Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko.

“This is yet another proof Moscow is grossly violating the rules of war,” Nikolenko wrote on Twitter.

On August 15, 2022, the so-called court of the Russian-backed ‘Donetsk People’s Republic, have charged five foreigners captured in Ukraine with being mercenaries.

The charges against three of the men – Swede Matias Gustavsson, Croatian Vjekoslav Prebeg, and Briton John Harding – carry the death penalty. Two more Britons, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill, were also charged but do not face execution.