ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/. The death sentence passed by the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) to three foreign mercenaries will serve as an example for other "soldiers of fortune" fighting on the side of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday at a briefing on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"Such a harsh sentence seems to be a clear example for all other so-called soldiers of fortune who are fighting on the side of Ukrainian neo-Nazis or only intend to join them, because this is a crime against the peaceful population of Donbass," the diplomat stressed.

"War crimes by Ukrainian radicals and foreign mercenaries will not go unpunished," she noted.

The diplomat also drew attention to repeated statements of the Russian leadership about the firm intention to continue the special military operation to protect Donbass from the aggression of the Kiev regime, as well as to demilitarize and denationalize Ukraine and eliminate threats to Russia emanating from Ukrainian territory.