Two captured Russian soldiers have pleaded guilty to shelling a town in eastern Ukraine in the second war crimes trial held in the Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.
At the trial in the Kotelevska district court in central Ukraine, state prosecutors asked for Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov to be jailed for 12 years for violating the laws of war.
A defence lawyer asked for leniency, saying the two soldiers had been following orders and had repented.
Bobikin and Ivanov, who stood in a reinforced glass box, acknowledged being part of an artillery unit that fired at targets in the Kharkiv region from the Belgorod region in Russia.
The shelling destroyed an educational establishment in the town of Derhachi, the prosecutors said.
Described as an artillery driver and a gunner, the soldiers were captured after crossing the border and continuing the shelling, the prosecutor-general's office said.
"I am completely guilty of the crimes of which I am accused. We fired at Ukraine from Russia," Bobikin told the court in proceedings that were streamed live.
Asking not to be handed the maximum jail term, Ivanov said: "I repent and ask for a reduction in the sentence."
The hearing lasted under an hour. The verdict is expected on May 31.
A Ukrainian court sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison on Monday for killing an unarmed civilian.
Russia said it had no information about the trial and that the absence of a diplomatic mission in Ukraine limited its ability to provide assistance.
Many more such trials are expected in both Ukraine and Russia, which has denied targeting civilians or involvement in war crimes.
Russia says arms supplies to Ukraine could lead to escalation
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the West that supplying weapons to Ukraine capable of hitting Russian territory would be "a serious step towards unacceptable escalation", Tass news agency said on Thursday.
RIA quoted Mr Lavrov as telling the RT Arabic channel that he hoped sane people in the West would understand this, adding: "There are still a few left there."
Russian oligarchs could buy way out of sanctions
Western allies are considering whether to allow Russian oligarchs to buy their way out of sanctions and use the money to rebuild Ukraine, according to government officials familiar with the matter.
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland proposed the idea at a G7 finance ministers' meeting in Germany last week.
Ms Freeland — knows some Russian oligarchs from her time as a journalist in Moscow — raised the issue after oligarchs spoke to her about it, one official said.
The official said the Ukrainians were aware of the discussions. The official said it's also in the West’s interests to have prominent oligarchs disassociate themselves from Russian President Vladimir Putin while at the same time providing funding for Ukraine.
"We would not be talking about this if there wasn’t some comfort on the part of the Ukrainians," the official said. “We need to know that it works for them, too."
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly about internal G7 discussions.
The proposal was raised in the context of providing additional money to Ukraine and how the frozen funds and assets of oligarchs could be a source of funds.
At this point, it was just an idea, the official said, but Western allies have expressed interest.
European Union officials have talked about the need to look at different and new avenues of confiscating assets and proving money to Ukraine.
Western countries have imposed a raft of sanctions on oligarchs in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Many of their multi-billion-dollar fortunes are intertwined with the West, from investments in Silicon Valley startups to British Premier League soccer teams.
ABC/wires
