Former AFU servicemen accused of forced mobilization in Crimea

Two former Ukrainian military officers were put on trial for working for the occupation authorities in Crimea. The investigation believes that they organized the illegal conscription of civilians into the Russian army, in violation of international law.

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Law enforcement officers sent indictments to court against two Russian soldiers from Crimea. According to the Krymsky Viter resource, these are Anatoliy Kostenko and Oleksandr Chepurenko, who, after the occupation of the Crimean peninsula, joined the occupation administration and ensure the illegal conscription of local residents into the Russian armed forces.

These are former members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who, according to the investigation, violated their military oath and began to cooperate with the aggressor state. They currently hold the positions of so-called "military commissars" in Feodosia and Kirovsky district, as well as in Simferopol.

The investigation has established that since 2015, the accused have been systematically fulfilling the tasks of the occupation authorities, implementing a policy of forced conscription of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territory. They organize and control the conscription campaigns, during which civilians are actually forced to join the ranks of the Russian army.

Such actions grossly violate the norms of international humanitarian law. In particular, according to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the Occupying Power has no right to force residents of the occupied territories to serve in its armed forces.

Law enforcement officers classified the actions of the defendants as a violation of the laws and customs of war, as well as treason. If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in prison.

Also in April, a prosecutor from the Rostov region was first notified of suspicion for persecuting a Ukrainian prisoner of war in Crimea. This is the case of a GUR special forces officer who was illegally convicted by the occupiers, ignoring international law.

Анна Бальчінос