Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to liken himself to the conquering monarch Peter the Great and spoke of his country’s need to “take back” territory and “defend” as Kremlin forces continued a tough stance. war of attrition in eastern Ukraine.
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A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic of Ukraine has found the three arrested militants guilty of plotting to overthrow the government, a crime punishable by death in the unrecognized Eastern Republic. They were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism. Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported that the men – identified as Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Ibrahim Saadoun – would face a series of gunshots. They have one month to appeal. The story goes on under the ad The separatist side claimed that the three fighters were “mercenaries” who were not entitled to the usual protection provided to prisoners of war. The men are the first foreign fighters to be convicted by Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists. British Foreign Secretary Luz Trouse has condemned the ruling as a “false decision with absolutely no legitimacy”. The spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Jamie Davis, said that under the Geneva Conventions, captured soldiers were entitled to immunity as fighters. 5:41 Report sheds light on Russian misinformation on Canadian social media The report sheds light on Russian misinformation on Canadian social media Saadoun’s father, Taher Saadoun, told the Moroccan online Arabic-language newspaper Madar 21 that his son was not a mercenary and had Ukrainian citizenship. The families of Aslin and Piner have claimed that the two men were longtime members of the Ukrainian army. Both are said to have lived in Ukraine since 2018. The three men fought alongside Ukrainian troops. Piner and Aslin surrendered to pro-Russian forces in the southern port of Mariupol in mid-April, while Sandun did so in mid-March in the eastern city of Volnovakha. The story goes on under the ad The Russian military has argued that foreign mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side are not fighters and will have to face long prison sentences, at best if arrested. Another British fighter captured by pro-Russian forces, Andrew Hill, is awaiting trial. Trending Stories
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As the war rages in a key city in Ukraine’s Donbass region and elsewhere, the Russian president draws parallels between the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great and the ambitions of modern Russia.
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When Peter founded the new capital, “no European country recognized it as Russia. “Everyone recognized it as Sweden,” Putin said. And he added: “What did (Peter) do? Withdrawal and reinforcement. That’s what he did. And it seems that it has fallen on us to take back and strengthen as well. “ Putin also seemed to leave the door open for further Russian territorial expansion. “It’s impossible – Do you understand? – it is impossible to build a fence around a country like Russia. “And we do not intend to build this fence,” said the Russian leader. Russian forces continued to pound the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk in fierce street-to-street fighting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said could determine the fate of Donbas, the country’s industrial coal mine and factory. The story goes on under the ad The Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian troops in Donbas for years and occupied parts of the territory before the invasion. “Fierce fighting continues in the city itself, with street battles taking place with varying degrees of success in the city squares,” said Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk province. “The Ukrainian army is fighting for every street and house.” Sievierodonetsk is part of the last enclave of Luhansk that the Russians have not yet occupied. Donbas consists of the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk. 3:19 “I’m happy”: Flight full of Ukrainians arrives in New Brunswick for a fresh start “I’m happy”: Flight full of Ukrainians arrives in New Brunswick for a fresh start Zelensky called the painful struggle for the city “the center” of the battle for Donbass. “In many ways, the fate of our Donbass is being judged there,” Zelensky said in a video overnight speech Wednesday. The story goes on under the ad Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a Facebook post that up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are being killed every day. “We as a country cannot afford to bleed, losing our best sons and daughters,” he said. In other developments: Haidai said Russian forces were also targeting Lysychansk, the city adjacent to Sievierodonetsk, with “day and night bombing” and trying to invade a key road leading from Lysychansk to the southwest. “Russian troops are trying to repeat their offensive to fully occupy the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine,” Ukraine said in a statement. Kyiv continues to occupy the northern part of the region, including the city of Zaporizhzhia. Russia has said it hit an educational facility west of the capital, far from the front lines. Russia’s Defense Ministry says it has used missiles fired from the air at a Ukrainian military base in the Zhytomyr region, where mercenaries are believed to be training.
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There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian authorities to the Russian allegations. Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of using mercenaries in the fighting. – Reported by Karmanau from Lviv, Ukraine. © 2022 The Canadian Press
