The Ukrainian government has promised to prosecute a pair of captured Russians on terrorism charges, saying they are Russian soldiers who were engaged in spying and killing a Ukrainian soldier.
Details on the two captured Russians are scant, but Ukraine says they were wounded and captured near Luhansk, and will be presented in public soon.
Russia insists the two men were no longer soldiers in the Russian Army, and Ukraine’s rebels said they were serving as policemen in Luhansk.
The Ukrainian government is citing rifles seized with them as being only for Russia’s special forces, and insists that proves they are active duty Russian military.
It becomes a legal fight over words and definitions this way. There are different rules and rights for capturing spies or soldiers (like the status of "prisoner of war" vs "enemy combatants"). It's possible both sides are "right" but both appear to be bordering on deception too. Russia tried to intervene without intervening and might have gone a bit overboard with their influx of spies and consultants although it's not unheard of in itself on the international stage. Ukraine just wants an official act of war being proven so it can be played out in the form of damages, political pressure and so on.
This sounds about right to me. Let's not forget that the Russian mercenaries are not soldiers and are not covered by the Geneva Conventions. Ukraine has amnestied any Ukrainian citizens involved in the fake "rebellion"but that doesn't apply to non-Ukrainians. Thus, any person not a serving Russian soldier or found not wearing Russian army uniform can be prosecuted under the ordinary criminla law. It all just wrongfoots Putin a little bit more.
Dombass republic should also suit foreign soldiers fighting with ukrainian army.The world sees only one side of the conflict. People should go the ukrainian web site " mirotvorets".("promoting peace") In that site you have a place where you can register and denonce somebody who do not like Ukraine.They fill also the name,adress of the person and people that he knows (for instance a girlfriend)..After the name of the journalist Oles Buzina was introduced in the list of this site ,he was shot down in Kiev.
The Ukrainians need somebody to swap for 'Joan of Arc'. Her comrades in 'the Aidar' were willing to cross into LPR and swipe a couple of cops. Then quick back to Kyiv for a victory parade and rest. The militias are the 'firemen' of the front: in quick, out faster. Slava Eukrainie!.
The siezed rifle (it's not, as claimed, a 'Val' assault rifle) is a common police weapon – available in a number of post SSRs and eastern Europe. The one displayed is certainly neither restricted to Russia (Ukraine 'officially' doesn't use it – but them there are a lot of unofficial firearms in Ukraine to-day) nor is it the latest equipment.