Russia-Ukraine war: Two Russian soldiers sentenced to prison for shelling residential areas

A court in Ukraine has sentenced two Russian soldiers to prison time for their involvement in the shelling of residential areas in eastern Ukraine. Both soldiers were arrested and have been detained since last year.

Ukraine’s SBU security service said in a statement that two Russian soldiers were sentenced to nine and 10 years in prison for their involvement in Russian shelling of residential areas in eastern Ukraine. The SBU did not disclose the names of the soldiers and how they pleaded before the court but said that they were fighting in eastern Ukraine and were arrested and detained last year.

“As a result of investigative actions, indisputable evidence on the guilt of two more militants who joined the ranks of the occupation groups of the aggressor country at the beginning of the full-scale invasion was collected,” the statement said.

The SBU said one of the two soldiers fought for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and then for the Russian army in Bakhmut last year. The other soldier was in charge of Russian troops that shelled the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine and was later captured.

Both soldiers were found guilty under the laws of encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine as well as participation in paramilitary or armed formations not provided for by law, said the SBU.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that Russia should bear the costs of the damages it caused in its invasion of Ukraine last year. However, Yellen noted that there are “significant legal obstacles” in seizing major Russian assets.

Speaking to reporters on the phone during a visit to Ukraine, Yellen said the United States would look into Ukraine’s calls for imposing sanctions on Russia’s nuclear energy sector but added the need to be “mindful” of potential consequences of such action on Western allies.

Yellen said Washington and its allies were discussing plans to make sure Russia pays for the devastation it has caused. Washington has already confiscated the assets that are used for criminal activities, but the central bank and other large portions of assets frozen by sanctions are another issue.