MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Moscow’s Basmanny Court sentenced former Ukrainian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Pyotr Vrublyovsky to six years in prison in absentia on charges of inciting hatred, according to a TASS reporter at the courtroom.
The court found the diplomat guilty of inciting ethnic hatred, according to Judge Timur Vakhrameyev. The term - in a standard-security prison - will start as soon as the man is detained or extradited.
According to the prosecution, in August 2022, while serving as Ukrainian ambassador to Kazakhstan, Vrublyovsky gave an interview where he made a statement that formed a contemptuous, hostile sentiment toward Russian nationals and encouraging violent acts against them. He called for "killing as many Russians as possible." A video of the interview was widely circulated on the Internet. Afterward, he was removed from the post of Ukraine's ambassador to Kazakhstan.
Because Vrublyovsky is absconding from the investigation, he was put on an international wanted-persons list.