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A Swedish man who fought in Ukraine is threatened with the death penalty in Donetsk.
Yesterday he explained in court why he served in the Ukrainian army.
– I met a woman and decided to start a new life in Ukraine, stated the Swede.
The Swede was captured at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine. On August 15, the trial began in the Supreme Court in Donetsk. The Swede is accused of being a mercenary, a crime that can carry the death penalty in the separatist Donetsk Republic.
The Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty was there and describes in a trial transcript how “a stately man with a Scandinavian appearance who looks more like a computer programmer than a soldier” answered the court’s questions.
– I simply love Ukraine, said the Swede.
The Swede stated that he came to Ukraine for the first time in 2015, liked the country and traveled there several times. In the end, he decided to stay, and in the summer of 2021 he emigrated from Sweden to Ukraine, according to the Russian site Lenta.
– I met a woman and decided to start a new life in Ukraine. I like this country a lot, and I decided to stay. I knew there was an armed conflict going on in the country, but in my social circle we didn’t talk much about it, and it was uninteresting to me, the Swede said before the court according to Argumenty in Fakty.
Bought Ukrainian passport and bribed driver’s license
The judge read out a submission that the Swede turned to a lawyer in December 2021 with a request for help to obtain Ukrainian citizenship, the site Lenta states.
On February 23, 2022, he received a Ukrainian passport, which reportedly cost him $700. He also bribed himself with a Ukrainian driver’s license, according to the Russian newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets.
In February 2022, the Swede joined Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, which together with the far-right Azov Company protected Mariupol.
– After I had entered the service, I was given an automatic rifle, but no instruction in shooting. I was with my unit in different places, first near Mariupol, and then in the city itself. My duty consisted only of guarding the unit and observing the movements of the enemy. In April, when the city was practically completely occupied by the enemy, we made our way to the territory of Azovstal, where we hid until we were captured, the Swede said before the court according to Argumenty in Fakty.
The Swede had learned to shoot “20 years ago in Estonia”, reports the Tass news agency.
– The AK-47 was the only weapon I shot with in Estonia, he said before the court.
The Swede said he signed a contract to serve in the Ukrainian Marine Brigade in February and that he would be paid about 15,000 hryvnias — about $400 — a month.
“Ukrainian citizen – not a mercenary”
The Swede emphasized that he is not guilty of the accusations. He does not consider himself a mercenary, as he has Ukrainian citizenship. Moreover, when he was captured, he had still not received any salary, he told the court.
In addition to the Swede, four other soldiers – one from Croatia and three from Great Britain – stood trial in Donetsk on Monday. The trial continues in October.
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs follows the trial:
“We note information that the Swedish citizen will be brought to trial in Donetsk on Monday, August 15. We are actively working on this case and are following up on the information available together with our embassies in Kyiv and Moscow. Prevailing circumstances in Ukraine make this work difficult,” the Foreign Ministry’s press service wrote to TT last week regarding the trial.