PRESS RELEASE : UK condemns Russian sham trial of Ukrainian prisoner of war [August 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 23 August 2023.

Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian prisoner of war, had his appeal rejected after he was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the so-called Luhansk people’s republic.

An FCDO Spokesperson said:

We are concerned by the treatment of Ukrainian prisoner of war Maksym Butkevych who was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic and has had an appeal against this sentence denied by a Moscow court.

This sham trial lacks legitimacy and we call on the Russian Federation to abide by international humanitarian law and treat Mr Butkevych appropriately as a prisoner of war according to the Geneva Convention.