Azov leader Prokopenko sentenced in absentia to 24 years in Russia

The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) has sentenced in absentia the leader of the nationalist battalion "Azov" (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko to 24 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony. This was reported by the Investigative Committee (IC) of the Russian Federation on December 25.

He was found guilty under Part 3 of Article 30, paragraphs "a", "f", "g", "l" of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Attempted murder of two or more persons, committed by a group of persons in a generally dangerous way, motivated by ideological and political hatred"), Part 1 of Art. 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Cruel treatment of the civilian population, use of prohibited means and methods in an armed conflict"), part 2 of article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Intentional damage to other people's property, causing significant damage"). To all this, the serviceman is declared in the international wanted list.

"The investigation and the court found that in the period from March 17 to March 25, 2022 Prokopenko, being on the territory of the metallurgical plant "Azovstal" in the city. Mariupol, guided by the criminal plan of the Kiev regime, gave his subordinate servicemen <...> Lev Kashpersky, Sergey Budykov, Andrey Tokar and German Matyushin an order to fire artillery guns at residential houses in the settlement of Stary Krym in the DNR, which are not military targets," reads the report published in the department's Telegram channel.

Later, the soldiers of the national battalion fired at least 40 shots at residential houses, where at that moment there were civilians who were not involved in the armed conflict.

It is specified that the civilians were not injured, as they took refuge from the shelling in a safe place.

"The court verdict sentenced him [Prokopenko] to 24 years of imprisonment with serving time in a strict regime colony. Criminal cases against Budykov, Tokar and Matyushin were transferred to the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic for consideration on the merits", - added in the IC.

Earlier, on December 13, in the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) detained a militant of the Ukrainian nationalist battalion "Aidar" (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia), who took part in hostilities in the city of Popasnaya. The message on the website of the IC notes that the suspect carried out combat actions aimed at suppressing the will and forcing the residents of the LNR to reject the will of self-determination.

Before that, on 2 December, the DNR Supreme Court sentenced in absentia a serviceman of the Azov national battalion (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), Andrey Romashchenko, who shot dead an elderly woman in Mariupol, to 24 years in a strict regime colony.