DPR court sentenced Azov militant to life imprisonment

The Supreme Court of the DPR sentenced a serviceman of the nationalist association “Azov” (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned) Alexei Kyrkalov with the call sign “Fritz” to life imprisonment in the case of the execution of a Russian prisoner of war in Mariupol in April 2022. About this reported in the press service of the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office of Russia.

Kyrkalov was found guilty of using prohibited methods in an armed conflict (part 1 of article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and of killing a person in a helpless state (paragraphs “b” and “c” of part 2 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He will serve his sentence in a penal colony of special regime.

The court found that on April 12, 2022, Azov servicemen captured two Russian servicemen in Mariupol. On April 15, Kyrkalov, “being dissatisfied with the combat situation developing for the Ukrainian military formations, accompanied by heavy losses,” took a prisoner of war in handcuffs and blindfolded out of the basement and shot him at least three times in the back of the head. Kirkalov pleaded not guilty.

After the start of a special military operation on February 24, 2022, the Russian military began to fight in Mariupol. May 4 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informedthat Mariupol is under the control of the Russian army. May 20 Minister reported Putin on the completion of the operation and the complete liberation of the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol. At the end of 2022, the Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin informed about the discovery of 3,000 bodies of local residents killed after the Ukrainian military left Mariupol.