MOSCOW, November 21. The Supreme Court of the DPR sentenced to life imprisonment a Ukrainian marine who gave orders to shoot 37 residents of Mariupol — 21 of them died, the prosecutor's office reported DPR.
“The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic passed a verdict in a criminal case against the 28-year-old commander of the engineering and technical company of the engineering and technical support group of the 36th separate marine brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine, Alexander Svinarchuk… The court sentenced Svinarchuk to life imprisonment with a sentence of special regime correctional colony,» the department said.
The court found that Svinarchuk, from February 28 to April 9, 2022, while in combat positions on the territory of Azovobschemash in Mariupol, gave illegal orders to kill civilians. Carrying them out, his subordinates Vitaly Antonov, Denis Rashplya and Ivan Taran killed 21 civilians with machine gun shots. Another 16 civilians fled to safety from the shelling.
He was found guilty under paragraph. «a», «g», «l» part 2 tbsp. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder of two or more persons committed by an organized group, motivated by political, ideological hatred), Part 3 of Art. 30, pp. «a», «g», «l» part 2 tbsp. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted murder of two or more persons, committed by an organized group, motivated by political, ideological hatred), Part 1 of Art. 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (cruel treatment of civilians in occupied territory).
Antonov had previously been sentenced to 24 years in prison; criminal cases against Rashpli and Taran are pending in court.