Ukrainian military judge in Rostov for murder in Mariupol and seizure of power in the “DNR”

The military court in Rostov-on-Don began to consider the case of 44-year-old Ukrainian marine Anton Cherednyk, accused of murdering a civilian in Mariupol and attempting to seize power from pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk. In April 2022, he was captured by the Russian army in Donetsk regions of Ukraine. He faces a life sentence. The publication “Grata” tells about the case.

This is the first such case to be considered by a Russian court on the generally recognized territory of the country, the publication notes. Previously, similar processes began in the Russian-controlled parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, Moscow announced their annexation, which is not recognized by the international community. In captivity, Cherednyk confessed to the murder several times on camera, under what conditions the video was recorded and whether he was granted protection is unknown.

According to the prosecution, on the evening of March 27, 2022, Cherednyk and a colleague stopped two residents of Mariupol, forced one of them to strip naked and explain to him the meaning of the Ukrainian word паляница. This word, which means round bread made of wheat flour, is phonetically difficult to pronounce for Russian speakers, at the beginning of the war it was used on the streets to identify saboteurs.

One of the passers-by, Alexander Pyskunov, was shot dead. According to the prosecution, this was done by Cherednyk “against the background of hatred for representatives of the Russian nationality, adherents of the Russian world, and persons who support the sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic.”

In addition to the murder, Cherednyk, serving in the regular Ukrainian army with the rank of senior sergeant, is accused of mistreatment of civilians, receiving training for terrorist activities – this is how the prosecution regarded his training in the Ukrainian army, and violent seizure of power – Mariupol is named in the indictment the territory of the independent state temporarily occupied by Ukraine with its center in Donetsk.

• In May 2023, a court in Kyiv sentenced Russian army sergeant Vadym Shishimarin to life imprisonment for the murder of civilian Alexander Shelypov in the Sumy region. The later sentence was changed to 15 years of imprisonment. While in captivity, Shishimarin admitted his guilt and expressed remorse.