Putin likens himself to Peter the Great, suggests Russia is justified in invading Ukraine

A court docket within the pro-Russian self-proclaimed Donetsk Individuals’s Republic on Thursday sentenced three males to loss of life that it has accused of being “mercenaries” for Ukraine, in line with Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

British residents Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan nationwide Brahim Saadoune appeared in court docket on Thursday, the place they had been handed down the loss of life penalty. 

The three males — all international fighters for the Ukrainian army — had been captured by Russian forces in mid-April in Mariupol. 

Saadoune, Aslin and Pinner had been sentenced to loss of life and shall be shot, in line with RIA Novosti’s reporting from the court docket in Donetsk.

The “head of the judicial board” in Donetsk stated that the convicted males “can attraction the choice inside a month,” in line with RIA Novosti.

One of many defendants’ attorneys, Pavel Kosovan, stated his consumer would attraction the decision, Russian state media TASS reported.

On Wednesday, Pinner, Aslin and Saadoune pleaded responsible to acts of “seizing energy by power,” state media reported on the time.  

“The related article of the Prison Code of the DPR gives for the loss of life penalty,” in line with RIA Novosti.

Aslin additionally pleaded responsible beneath the article “coaching with a view to perform terrorist actions,” in line with state media.

Some context: The so-called Donetsk Individuals’s Republic, a pro-Russian space within the east of Ukraine, shouldn’t be an internationally acknowledged authorities; due to this fact, the court docket’s selections aren’t thought-about reliable by the worldwide neighborhood.