The trial of the prisoners, whom the Russians call “Aidar” fighters, has begun in Russia

On July 25, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, began hearing the “case” of 18 Ukrainians, who are known in the Russian Federation as fighters of the Ukrainian “Aidar” battalion.

The Russian propaganda resource “TASS” writes about this. Propagandists called this trial “the first mass case in Russia.”

The “case” of the alleged fighters of “Aidar” reached the Russian court on June 20. The publication mentioned the names of those whom the Russians sent to the dock.

We are talking about Vyacheslav Baiduk, Ihor Gayokha, Vitaly Gruzynov, Vladyslav Yermolinskyi, Semen Zabayrachnyi, Serhii Kalinchenko, Vitaly Krokhalev, Volodymyr Makarenko, Roman Nedostupa, Serhiy Nikityuk, Yevgeny Pyathorets, Taras Radchenko, Oleksandr Tarants, Dmytro Fedchenko, Mykola Chuprina, Andriy Sholyk, Maryna Mishchenko, and Lilia Prutyan

It is not specified under which articles each and every one is judged. The propagandists write that the prisoners are accused of violating “articles of the criminal code”, which was created in the occupied part of the Donetsk region, because it was there that the “case” against Ukrainians was initiated.

In particular, the “forcible seizure of power and change of the constitutional system” of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “participation in the activities of a terrorist organization” are criticized.

During the “trial”, the Russians want to reclassify these accusations under the Russian criminal code. At the same time, Russian mass media write that it is not yet known what exactly Russia considers a “violation” of its legislation.

The majority of Ukrainians, according to records of interrogations of prisoners and reports in pro-Russian sources. All of them ended up in Russian captivity at the beginning of the full-scale war, in March-April 2022. Among them are at least two officers: Ihor Gayokha and Taras Radchenko.