A Ukrainian court sentenced a
Russian soldier to 10 years in jail on Monday after finding him guilty of
violating the laws and customs of war by firing a tank at a multi-storey
apartment block, an interior ministry official said.
The court in northeast
Chernihiv found Mikhail Kulikov, who was captured while fighting, guilty of
hitting the residential building on Feb. 26, two days after Russia invaded
Ukraine, said Anton Herashchenko, an aide to Ukraine’s interior minister.
Kulikov pleaded guilty at the
trial and sought a more lenient punishment because he said he had been
following orders, the Ukrainian general prosecutor’s office said.
The residential block that was
hit in the city of Chernihiv was not a military target or being used for
military purposes, it said.
Russia denies its forces
deliberately targeting civilians in what it calls a special military operation.
Ukraine is investigating
almost 26,000 suspected war crimes that were committed during the war and has
charged 135 people, its chief war crimes prosecutor told Reuters last week.
Of those charged, around 15
are in Ukrainian custody and the remaining 120 remain at large, the prosecutor
said.
