In the DPR, a mercenary of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from New Zealand was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in a penal colony.

The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has sentenced in absentia a criminal case against New Zealand citizen Jacob Patrick Lynch, who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) as a mercenary. The corresponding statement was published on the official website of the regional Prosecutor's office on July 17.

"The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic has pronounced a verdict in absentia in the criminal case against Jacob Patrick Lynch, a 30-year-old New Zealand citizen. He was found guilty under Part 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict")," the report says.

It is specified that in the period from June to July 2023, Lynch arrived in Ukraine, where he voluntarily joined the 59th Separate motorized Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a mercenary. There he completed military training, which included acquiring skills in handling military weapons, as well as training in how to conduct combat operations.

According to the prosecutor's office, Lynch was paid more than 170,000 rubles for his participation in the fighting. In July 2023, the mercenary left the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to injury.

The court sentenced Lynch to 14 years in prison to serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony.

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