Russia sentenced soldiers who murdered Ukrainian family to life imprisonment

MOSCOW: A Russian court sentenced two soldiers to life imprisonment for murdering a family of nine in their home in occupied Ukraine, state media reported on Friday (November 8).

Russian prosecutors said that in October 2023, two Russian soldiers named Anton Sopov and Stanislav Rau entered the Kapkanets family’s house in the city of Volnovakha with silenced weapons.

They then shot all nine family members living there, including two children aged five and nine.

The southern regional military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced two men to life imprisonment for mass murder “motivated by political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred,” state-run TASS news agency reported, citing an unnamed lawmaker. source of sanctions.

The incident caused great reaction in Ukraine.

At that time, Kiev claimed that Russian soldiers killed the family in their sleep after they refused to leave their home to allow Russian soldiers to live there.

“The invaders killed the Kapkanets family, who were celebrating their birthday and refusing to give up their home,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in a statement a day after the murder. he said.

Russian forces captured the city of Volnovakha in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region at the start of a large-scale military offensive.

It was almost destroyed by the attacks of Russian artillery.