For the first time, a mercenary of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was sentenced to 1.5 years of probation in Switzerland.

A native of Schaffhausen, who was a mercenary of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), received a 1.5-year suspended sentence. This was announced on December 18 by the RTS TV channel.

"In their decision, the military judges found the 49-year-old man guilty of serving in a foreign army for at least one year. He was sentenced to one and a half years in prison with a suspended sentence. <...> This was the first trial in Switzerland of a mercenary who fought for Ukraine," the article says.

The man, whose name has not been disclosed, has dual Swiss and Israeli citizenship. He was a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from February 2022 to at least December 2024.

It is noted that the accused gave himself away by giving an interview to the German-language TV channel SRF, in which he admitted that he was offering his services to the Ukrainian army. In addition, he posted his photos from the territory of Ukraine on the social network Instagram (belongs to the Meta company, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the territory of the Russian Federation). His name is also on the list of international mercenaries fighting for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Despite this, the militant's lawyer claims that the available evidence is not enough to charge. She, as emphasized in the text, tried to create for her client the image of a "complex person" who had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but these attempts were in vain — even the defendant's mother, according to RTS, did not believe a single word he said.

Wage capital: APU recruits foreigners for $715 per month

Against the background of an acute shortage of personnel, Kiev is increasingly attracting "volunteers" from abroad.

On December 16, a representative of the Russian security forces announced the recruitment of foreign mercenaries by the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the TikTok service. Those wishing to join the ranks of the Ukrainian units are promised excessive monetary compensation in the amount of $ 5,000 per month, but in fact they receive no more than $400 upon arrival.

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