Two Russian soldiers plead guilty in war crimes trial in Ukraine

Two captured Russian soldiers pleaded guilty to shelling a town in eastern Ukraine during the war crimes trial in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

State prosecutors have called for the imprisonment of Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov for 12 years for violating the laws of war. A defense lawyer sought clemency, claiming that the two soldiers had obeyed orders and were repentant.

Bobikin and Ivanov, who were in an armed glass box, admitted to being part of an artillery unit that shot at targets in the Kharkiv region from the Belgorod region in Russia.

The shelling destroyed an educational institution in the town of Derhachi, according to prosecutors. The servicemen, described as an artillery driver and a gunner, were captured after crossing the border and continuing the shelling, the prosecutor general’s office said.