Authorities in the Donetsk People’s Republic have handed lengthy jail terms to two foreign fighters who served in Kiev’s military

Two foreign nationals who fought in the Ukrainian military have been sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison by the Supreme Court of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, it was announced on Thursday.  

The two individuals, who are citizens of the US and Venezuela, were both convicted of fighting as mercenaries, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow. Russia is seeking their arrest through international warrants. 

The American mercenary was identified as Charles Albert Carter, 48. Prosecutors said he arrived in Ukraine sometime in mid-2022 and joined the notorious Carpathian Sich battalion. 

Officially designated the 49th Infantry Battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the unit is the reincarnation of the eponymous force created in 2014 by Oleg Kutsyn of the Ukrainian nationalist Svoboda Party. Its members have been accused of committing multiple war crimes in Donbass.

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Carter had military experience before going to Ukraine and served for some time as a NATO instructor, Russian officials said. 

The second convict was named as Palma Vajari Moises Urbina. According to Russian prosecutors, the 30-year-old served in the Ukrainian International Legion, the force created specifically for foreign fighters. 

Russian authorities have identified thousands of mercenaries who have been paid by Kiev for their services in the ongoing conflict, according to Rodion Miroshnik, who is leading a special Foreign Ministry mission to investigate alleged Ukrainian war crimes. Those who survive their experience and flee to other countries will nevertheless be held accountable for their actions, he said in an interview in August. 

“I believe the information about their crimes will be available in many nations, and people there will realize what kind of people Ukraine is using now,” the diplomat said.