Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform
March 13, 2023, 14:40

Trials of the Ukrainian military are Russia’s attempt to pressure Ukraine and the international community

Olha Reshetylova, Coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, emphasized it during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform, commenting on the so-called ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’ quasi-court sentence for Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist Maksym Butkevych, who joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the beginning of the war and was later captured.

She noted that the so-called trials of Ukrainian servicemen in the occupied territories "are held to exert pressure on us. It is the act of pressing Ukrainian society."

Olha Reshetylova noted that the conviction of military personnel is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. To do so, Russia involves the proxy ‘DPR’ and ‘LPR’.

“I want to reassure the public, as, in fact, these sentences are null and void, having no impact on the servicemen’s future. It has absolutely no bearing on their release because Ukraine and the entire civilized international community do not attach any importance to these trials and these verdicts.”

We would like to remind you that on March 10, a court of the so-called ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’ sentenced a well-known Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist, Maksym Butkevych, to 13 years in prison. He joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the beginning of the war and was later captured. Along with Butkevych, Ukrainians Viktor Pohozei and Vladyslav Shel were also ‘sentences’. These ‘prison terms’ are evidence of russian authorities committing war crimes against prisoners of war.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news