Ukrainian court sentences Wagner Group mercenary from Kazakhstan to nine years in prison

A Donetsk court sentenced a 23-year-old citizen of Kazakhstan to nine years in prison for fighting as a mercenary, reports the Ukrainian outlet Grati.

According to the court documents, the Kazakhstani citizen was serving a prison sentence at a penal colony in Tyumen when he was recruited into Wagner Group to fight in the war in Ukraine. He completed military training at a camp in Russia’s Rostov region, before he was sent to the annexed “LNR” territory in December. On December 24, he was sent to Yakovlivka, a village in the Bakhmut region. On December 30, he was captured by Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Ukraine’s Security Service says he was serving a 10-year prison sentence for rape. In an interview with the Ukrainian outlet Glavkom, the Kazakhstani citizen said he was sent to the penal colony for killing someone during a drunken brawl.