The Russian military court on Wednesday sentenced 12 members of the Ukrainian Azov legion, which led the defense of the city of Mariopol in the early stages of the war and was designated as a “terrorist organization” by Russia.
According to Russian state media reports, the defendant was charged with “terrorist activities” and “violently seized or retained power” and was sentenced to 13 to 23 years in prison.
Independent news media Mediazona said another 11 people who had returned to Ukraine during prisoner exchanges were also sentenced to absentia. They include nine women who have served as Army chefs.
It said 12 Azov members who had shaved heads in court would appeal the verdict, some of whom denied wrongdoing or that the testimony they gave was obtained under coercion, something Reuters could not confirm.
Ukraine has no immediate comment on the verdict. Ukraine’s human rights envoy Dmytro Lubinets began condemning the proceedings in June 2023 because they were “another fake trial” for Russia’s “its own entertainment.”
The banned Azov legion in Russia has been a special focus of Russian anger, often characterized by Moscow, a fanatical grouping of neo-Nazis who hate Russia.
Ukraine rejects Russia’s description of Azov as a terrorist organization. The regiment was founded by Andriy Biletskiy, a tough nationalist, but then separated itself from his politics.
Since 2014, it has been folded into Ukraine’s National Guard, Kiev said it has reformed from its radical nationalist origins and is now apolitical.
With the Trump administration’s support for Ukraine, CBC’s Terence McKenna reviewed the European scramble to strengthen its main defenders against Russia and whether European countries can completely replace U.S. military and diplomatic power.
For many Ukrainians, the Azov fighters were heroes, symbolizing the spirit of national resistance, with the devastating ruins of Mary Upol clinging to the ruins of Mario Opol as Russia sieges the port city between February and May 2022.
Russia said nearly 2,500 people eventually surrendered, and their shelters emerged from the shelter in a vast network of bunkers and tunnels beneath the city’s Azovstal Steelworks. The Kremlin said at the time that President Vladimir Putin promised to treat him according to international standards.
The head of the Russian state investigation committee said earlier this month that the Russian court has convicted 145 Azov members so far.
Disputes on the implementation of the Black Sea transaction
The U.S. said it had reached a separate deal with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday to stop fighting in the Black Sea and stop attacks on energy targets, and Washington agreed to push for some sanctions on Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Wednesday to further sanctions against Moscow, saying it was clearly not pursuing “real peace” after the damage caused in several places on the night of Russian drone strikes.
Zelenskyy said the ceasefire would take effect immediately, but the Kremlin said the Black Sea Agreement would not take effect unless some Russian banks were linked to the international financial system. The Kremlin said it has paused on energy attacks.
Ukraine has no statement saying that Russia attacked the energy infrastructure overnight, but Zelensky said they violated the spirit of peaceful negotiations.
“Starting such a large-scale attack after the ceasefire negotiations made it clear to the world that Moscow will not pursue true peace,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Russia has reported only the damage to the drone, which he said has destroyed nine drones, including two on the Black Sea. Moscow said Ukraine had tried to attack the energy infrastructure in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions in Russia’s Crimea and energy infrastructure. It did not report any damage.
Kyiv did not respond immediately. The Ukrainian military reported 117 drone attacks, and local officials said the city of Kryvyi Rih was hit by the largest drone attack faced since the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022.
Russian nightly drone attacks have always been a feature of Ukrainian urban life. So, there was a power outage as Russia’s attacks recently targeted gas facilities, but missiles hammered the grid. Kyiv used drones to attack Russian oil facilities.
Although Russia’s food and fertilizer exports are not subject to Western sanctions, Moscow said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance constitute obstacles to goods.
Russia wants to reconnect its national Agricultural Bank of China Rosselkhozbank to the Swift International Payments System. This and other steps may require the consent of European countries.
“As for the Black Cereal Initiative, it can be activated after many conditions are implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Moscow withdrew from its initial deal in 2023, which was facilitated by the United Nations and Turkey in 2022, complaining that under the terms of the agreement, the barriers to its own food and fertilizer exports have not been relaxed.
