Russian pilot who bombed Kharkiv to be exchanged

Dzerzhynskyi District Court of Kharkiv City has satisfied the request of the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office for the release from serving the sentence of the Russian soldier Maxim Krishtop.

Source: Sudovyi Reporter with reference to the decision made on 6 March

Details: According to a copy of the letter of the Coordination Staff for Treatment of Prisoners of War, a decision was made on 3 March to exchange Krishtop as a prisoner of war for the release of Ukrainian defenders who are held captive by the aggressor state.

The decision to exchange was made the day after the court verdict, which sentenced Krishtop to 12 years in prison for violating the laws and customs of war.

Neither Krishtop nor his lawyer attended the court session regarding the release from punishment, submitting a statement to consider the case without their participation. The convict confirmed that he agrees with the prosecutor's request, as it is about an exchange.

Krishtop was held in the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre until recently. Previously, he was also in the Kharkiv pre-trial detention centre. The Russian spent a total of almost a year in Ukrainian prisons while waiting for the verdict.

Cancelling the punishment, the court decided to transfer the Russian to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukraine Defence Ministry, supervision of representatives of the authorised body responsible for the treatment of prisoners of war, for the organisation and conducting of the exchange.

The Dzerzhynskyi District Court of Kharkiv City held a closed court hearing in the part where the accused testified at the request of his lawyer.

Krishtop's testimony is also not listed as information prohibited for publication in the public text of the verdict. The reasons for this are not explained in the decision, but the defence attorney insisted on a completely closed trial for security reasons for the accused in the preliminary hearing. It is only known that Krishtop admitted his guilt and allegedly contributed to solving the crime.

Previously: On 7 March, as a result of the negotiation process, another exchange of captured soldiers between Ukraine and Russia took place, Kyiv exchanged 130 Ukrainian defenders for 90 Russian soldiers.

Background:

• On 24 February and 3 March, Kryshtop – together with an flight navigator – dropped 12 air bombs (6 each day) on the city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, on civilian buildings, in the area where there were no units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or any other military formations.
• On 6 March, 2 Russian aircrafts shelled the Kharkiv Television Tower with 8 aerial bombs with a total TNT equivalent of 2 tons and 400 kilograms. The TV tower was also a civilian facility.
• According to the investigation, the order to destroy the TV tower was given by Major General Oleg Makovetsky, who was appointed commander of the 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army of the Western Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
• Alexey Loboda, Commander of 45117 military unit (Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army), brought this to the attention of two pilots and two navigators and ordered them to begin execution.
• The pilot of the main (leading) aircraft, followed by the second, was lieutenant colonel Krishtop, Deputy Commander of the 47th Bomber Aviation Regiment, 45117 military unit.
• Krishtop did not refuse to conduct the criminal order and carried it out. The Su-34 aircraft was shot down literally a minute after the bombing by the servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine. Krishtop ejected and was detained by the Ukrainian military around 02:00.

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