Prisoners of war are under special protection. However, Russia and the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine do not grant this status to all their prisoners. Among other things, three foreigners who fought for Ukraine face execution.
The pro-Russian separatists have threatened to kill three captured foreigners who are said to have been fighting on the side of Ukraine. Accordingly, "investigations" against two Britons and a Moroccan have been completed. "The maximum sentence - the death penalty - can be imposed on the accused, taking into account martial law," a spokesman for the separatist prosecutor's office said, according to the Interfax news agency. The case has already been handed over to the court.
The Russian leadership had also threatened foreign fighters with harsh penalties if they were captured. They would not be considered soldiers, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. There is no death penalty in Russia. But it applies in the pro-Russian separatist areas. The trials of the Ukrainian militants from the Mariupol steelworks are also planned there. Many of them belong to the Azov regiment, referred to in Russian media as a Nazi unit.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian troops and their separatist allies have intensified their offensive in recent days. The Separatists announced their capture of the strategically important city of Lyman. Together with the Russian army, they had "gained complete control" over Lyman, their general staff said. The Russian army also intensified its attacks on the industrial city of Severodonetsk.
