A US mercenary was sentenced in absentia to 26 years for crimes in the Kursk region.

A court in Moscow has sentenced U.S. citizen Derrick Bales (listed as a terrorist in Russia) to 26 years in prison in absentia for crimes against civilians in the Kursk region. This was announced on March 18 by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation on its official website.

The court found that in March 2022, Bales arrived in Ukraine, where he joined the International Legion. There he was trained and received weapons for combat operations.

In August last year, Bales illegally crossed the territory of the Kursk region, where he subsequently carried out armed attacks, fired at Russian military personnel, law enforcement officers and residential buildings, and intimidated civilians. For this, the Ukrainian authorities paid him at least $1,000 a month.

The court sentenced Bales in absentia to 26 years in prison, of which he must serve seven in prison, and the rest of the term in a high—security penal colony. In addition, the court confiscated funds in the amount of 2.4 million rubles received by him as a mercenary.

Bales is currently on the international wanted list.

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On March 13, a court sentenced Mikhail Baturin, a Georgian mercenary who participated in the invasion of the Kursk region, to 25 years in prison in absentia. For a long time, the defendant was engaged in the recruitment, training and financing of Ukrainian mercenaries, and also took a direct part in the fighting for money. The accused has been put on the international wanted list.