The Southern District Military Court sentenced 48-year-old Ukrainian serviceman Roman Oleinyk to six years in a general-regime penal colony. The case was heard under charges of participating in a terrorist community because of his service in the Azov unit. The court’s press service told Mediazona about the ruling.
According to the court, Oleinyk joined Azov on February 24, 2022, the day Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He was then assigned the position of senior rifleman.
In mid-May 2022, he was taken prisoner together with other Ukrainian soldiers who had defended Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant.
Investigators claim that Oleinyk took part in “terrorist activity” by performing guard and sentry duties while serving in the unit.
In Russia and in occupied territories, captured Ukrainian servicemen are being tried on a mass scale under “terrorism” articles for serving in Azov and Aidar. In many such cases, the prosecution relies on little more than a soldier’s formal affiliation with those units.