Moscow court sentences Volgograd resident to four years in prison for trying to leave to fight on Ukraine's side

The Lefortovo District Court of Moscow sentenced 22-year-old Maxim Dmitrienko, who was accused of attempting to leave to fight on the side of Ukraine, to four years in prison, Mediazona reported, citing the court's press service.

The publication writes that the court found the man guilty under the article on participation in an armed group , which provides for eight to 15 years of imprisonment. The press service did not specify why Dmitriyenko was sentenced to half the minimum limit.

The man will spend the first two years of his sentence in prison, after which he will be transferred to a maximum security penal colony. In addition, the court sentenced the man to one year of restricted freedom after his release.

• Dmitrienko was arrested in April at the request of the FSB. According to investigators, the man served in the French Foreign Legion for three years, and after the Russian invasion began, he tried to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In particular, TASS writes , Dmitrienko contacted the Ukrainian embassy in Paris with a request to help him join the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but the man was then refused because of his Russian citizenship.