A Russian soldier who kidnapped a 15-year-old Ukrainian boy near Chernihiv in March 2022 was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court in Chernihiv Oblast, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Dec. 7.
The press release did not indicate whether the soldier was sentenced in absentia.
Ukrainian investigators have continuously sought to identify and prosecute Russian soldiers who committed war crimes, whether or not they are physically located in Ukraine.
According to the prosecutors, the soldier kidnapped the boy during the Russian offensive near Chernihiv and held him hostage for four days to try and force his mother, a Ukrainian soldier, to divulge the location of Ukrainian troops in the area.
Along with other accomplices, the soldier held the boy in unsanitary conditions, threatened him with violence, and repeatedly contacted his mother, saying they would harm him if she did not tell them what they wanted to know.
Abducting or holding children hostage is a violation of the Geneva Convention, which Russia is a party to.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
