The so-called supreme courts of the terrorist Russian enclaves of the LDPR in the occupied part of Donbas sentenced human rights activist and journalist Maksym Butkevych, who served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was taken prisoner, to 13 years. Illegitimate courts sentenced two other Ukrainians, Viktor Pokhozey and Vladyslav Shel, to 8.5 and 18.5 years in prison, the Ukrainian Pravda website reported, citing Russian media.
The terrorists accused Ukrainians of "ll-treatment of civilians and the use of prohibited methods in armed conflict".
The article says that Maksym Butkevych joined the Armed Forces in March 2022. He is a Ukrainian human rights activist and journalist, co-founder of ZMINA and Hromadske radio.
Butkevych was captured by the Russians in June 2022. Russian propagandists reported on Butkevych's capture by publishing a video of his interrogation. They claimed that the Ukrainian military, including Butkevych, "surrendered near Hirske".
On 23 February, at the Berlin Film Festival, representatives of the Ukrainian film industry called on the international cultural community to demand the release of Butkevych from Russian captivity.