Critics have called the death sentence for three foreign soldiers captured while fighting for Ukraine 'unprecedented'. So what happens next? And why is the case so complex?
A senior Ukrainian official has said Russia wants to use the three prisoners as "hostages" to put pressure on the West over peace negotiations.
Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are frozen. Russia has accused Ukraine of blocking talks, but Kyiv says Moscow is to blame.The men were sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic , one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine. Three days before launching its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia recognised them as independent states in a move condemned by Ukraine and the West as illegal.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that should London raise the case directly with the DPR, this might amount to de-facto recognition of the region's independence.
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