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Military operation in Ukraine

Mercenaries convicted in DPR could be swapped for Russians only, senior legislator insists

The issue must be settled at "the highest levels", Andrey Lugovoy insisted

ST. PETERBURG, June 17. /TASS/. Britons Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, as well as Moroccan Brahim Saadoun sentenced to death in the Donetsk People’s Republic for fighting as pro-Kiev mercenaries in Ukraine could be exchanged for Russians or for Russian servicemen only, a senior Russian legislator said on Friday.

"I am afraid, their fate is unenviable. The death penalty is exactly what they deserve. But we should be pragmatic. As far as I understand, the Ukrainian side is keeping our men prisoners. So, if we opt for this (exchange - TASS), it should be very commensurate," Andrey Lugovoy, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

The issue must be settled at "the highest levels" only, the legislator insisted. He also said any exchange for someone else, including Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, would be disproportionate.

Lugovoy also said the British press was keeping a close watch on the mercenaries’ capital punishment sentence, in addition this development has been a great headache for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

The two British nationals, Pinner and Aslin, as well as Moroccan Saadoun were earlier captured in the DPR. The Supreme Court of the Donbass republic handed them capital punishment verdicts for fighting as pro-Kiev mercenaries in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said "mercenaries the West has been sending to the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev cannot be considered combatants under international humanitarian law and are not entitled to the status of prisoners of war."

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in response to a request from the leaders of the two Donbass republics. The Russian head of state stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine. The West has responded with sweeping sanctions against Russia. Western nations have so far supplied billions of dollars worth of weapons and military equipment to Kiev.

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Foreign policy Military operation in Ukraine

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