A man aged 34 from Strășeni, a former platoon commander in Ukraine’s Donetsk, was sentenced to three years and six months in jail for mercenarism performed in 2016-2021. He benefitted from a reduction in the jail term as he admitted his guilt, IPN reports.
The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases said the young man was arrested when he returned to the country, at the Sculeni border crossing point, and was investigated. He accepted his blame. More exactly, he took part in the armed conflict in Ukraine by contributing to the secession of the Ukrainian separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Initially, he joined the military group “Pervaya Slavianskaia Brigada” (“First Slavic Brigade”) of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk and took part in the armed conflict as a soldier. Later, he was promoted to battalion commander and then to telecommunications platoon commander. The accused said he was paid monthly and received a total of 150,000 Russian rubles a year.
The man was remanded in custody until the sentence pronounced on November 11 takes effect.