2 Britons and a Moroccan sentenced to firing squad
Two Britons and a Moroccan were sentenced to death by firing squad on Thursday by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine for fighting on Ukraine’s side.
The Supreme Court of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic found the men guilty of working to violently overthrow power, an offense punishable by death in the republic recognized only by Russia – and just days before the invasion in February. These men were also found guilty of mercenary activities and terrorism.
Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Saaudun Brahim have one month to appeal.
“The guilty verdict is based on the evidence provided by the prosecution, not counting the defendants’ guilty pleas on all counts,” Judge Alexander Nikulin told reporters.
Prosecutors claimed that the three fighters are “mercenaries” who are not entitled to the protections given to prisoners of war. The families of Aslin and Pinner said the men had lived in Ukraine since 2018 and were “longtime” members of the Ukrainian military.
Pinner and Aslin surrendered to pro-Russian forces in the southern port of Mariupol in mid-April, while Brahim did so in mid-March in the eastern town of Volnovakha.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the decision “a bogus judgment without any legitimacy”.
“I totally condemn the sentencing of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine. They are prisoners of war,” she said in a statement. “My heart goes out to the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them. »
Another British fighter captured by pro-Russian forces, Andrew Hill, is awaiting trial.
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Latest developments:
►A resolution urging NATO to quickly admit Finland and Sweden was easily passed by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. Turkey has blocked applications, saying it opposes both countries’ positions on certain Kurdish groups that the Turks have branded as terrorists.
►The Russians occupying the southeastern city of Melitopol are searching for industrial freezers and refrigerators after the city’s meat-packing plant, turned into a morgue, filled with Russian bodies. This week, Aron-M LLC said it was told its refrigerators would be used “free of charge for the preservation of the bodies of fallen servicemen.”
►Senior European Union parliament officials are urging European leaders to make Ukraine and neighboring Moldova official candidates to join the 27-nation bloc. In recent years, parliament had balked at Ukraine’s candidacy, citing endemic corruption.
►President Joe Biden plans to visit his European allies Germany and Spain this month as he tries to hold together the coalition that opposes the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In parts of Ukraine, children play on abandoned war tanks
More than three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, remnants of war have become a more permanent part of everyday life for Ukrainian citizens. Photos show onlookers stopping to inspect broken down military vehicles. Some even let their dogs, goats and children play on top of abandoned war tanks on public display on the streets of Kyiv and in bombed areas. See photos here.
“To see the vehicles the monsters were driving and what’s left of them,” said Olya Ovcharuk, a kindergarten teacher before the invasion. “There’s no question here that this is a demonstration of death. It doesn’t stop people from taking selfies or climbing on and into vehicles, smelling burnt body armor.”
– Camille Fine
‘Endless Caravan of Death’ in Mariupol
The true human cost of Russia’s siege of Mariupol was revealed on Thursday with the revelation that rescue workers are extracting hundreds of bodies from the rubble of bombed-out buildings in the Ukrainian port city. Fifty to 100 bodies were found in numerous buildings, city officials said. Mayor Petro Andryushchenko said on the Telegram app that the bodies were taken in an “endless death caravan” to a morgue, dumps and other locations.
At least 21,000 Mariupol civilians were killed during the weeks-long Russian siege, Ukrainian authorities have estimated. The Kremlin said it used pinpoint strikes on military targets, but several towns have been left in ruins by endless bombardment as Russian forces use their long-range strike advantage to pound Ukraine with relative impunity. .
Mariupol, once home to 450,000 people, is now home to less than 100,000, according to authorities. It is completely occupied by Russian troops.
Estimates vary on troop deaths, but the cost of the war has been high
The war promises to be a battle of attrition as both sides suffer heavy losses. Ukraine’s military said it had “liquidated” more than 30,000 Russian soldiers since the February 24 invasion. Russia has said little about troop losses in recent weeks. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a Facebook publishes on Thursday that every day up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are killed and up to 500 injured. This could translate to more than 15,000 Ukrainian soldier deaths and 50,000 injuries – and does not take into account the thousands of civilian lives lost.
“We have proven that we are not afraid of the Kremlin, unlike many others. But as a country we cannot afford to bleed, to lose our best sons and daughters,” Reznikov wrote.
Olga Oliker, director of Crisis Group, an NGO, told the Guardian that “both sides are vying to be the last army standing”.
Moscow’s chief rabbi in exile after refusing to back invasion
The chief rabbi of Moscow lives in exile after Russian authorities demanded that he publicly support the war in Ukraine. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt flew to Hungary to raise money for refugees in early March and has not returned to Russia, his New York-based daughter-in-law Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt said. in a Twitter post. She said her in-laws raised money for refugees in Eastern Europe and then visited her grandfather in a Jerusalem hospital. Pinchas Goldschmidt was reelected this week in absentia to another seven-year term as chief rabbi of Moscow.
“I can finally say that my in-laws, Chief Rabbi of Moscow @PinchasRabbi and Rabbanit Dara Goldschmidt, were pressured by the authorities to publicly support the ‘special operation’ in Ukraine — and refused,” said she tweeted. “They are now in exile from the community in which they loved, built and raised their children, for over 33 years.”
Contributor:Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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