A Russian Azov militant was charged with mercenary activity in Moscow.
The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia has charged citizen of the Russian Federation Anton Korolev in absentia. He is charged with committing crimes under Part 3 of Art. 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict), Part 1 of Art. 280, part 1 art. 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public calls for extremist activities and incitement to hatred and enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity). At the request of the investigation, the court chose a preventive measure in absentia in the form of detention for Korolev, and he was put on the international wanted list, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Anton Korolev is an active supporter of nationalist ideas and openly advertises his affiliation with one of the extremist organizations. According to the investigation, pursuing the goals of material enrichment and propaganda of his views, in the fall of 2014 he traveled to the territory of Ukraine, where he enlisted the support of Ukrainian nationalists and in March 2015 voluntarily joined the Ukrainian nationalist Azov battalion, supported by the Ukrainian government. Arriving in Ukraine, Anton Korolev underwent special training at the bases of the Azov battalion, mastered the handling of firearms, explosives, and acquired the necessary knowledge about military strategy and tactics,” the ICR press center said in a statement.
“In the period from 2015 to the present, the Russian, together with other fighters of this unit, has been taking part in hostilities in the territory of south-eastern Ukraine against the militia forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics,” the department added.
At the moment, Anton Korolev continues to be outside Russia and is hiding from Russian law enforcement agencies, in connection with which the investigation has sent a request to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation to resolve the issue of extraditing the accused to Russia. If the Ukrainian side refuses extradition, the criminal case against Anton Korolev will be sent to court in absentia.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has already investigated a number of similar crimes. Artem Shirobokov and Roman Zheleznov were convicted in absentia for committing them, and the court handed down guilty verdicts against them.
A Russian Azov militant has been charged with mercenarism in Moscow.