Russia jails brothers for 17 years for attempt to fight for Kyiv

Russia sentenced three young brothers to 17 years in prison Wednesday for trying to cross into Ukraine to join a unit of Russians fighting on Kyiv's side.

Moscow has been handing out long prison terms to its citizens for helping Ukraine and has banned the pro-Kyiv Freedom of Russia Legion, which has staged several incursions into Russia, as a terrorist group.

Ioann Ashcheulov, 24, was sentenced to 17 and a half years by a Moscow military court while his brothers -- Alexei, 20, and 19-year-old Timofey --  were handed 17 years, Russian state media reported.

The brothers were found guilty of treason, taking part in a terrorist group and of illegally crossing the border.

The court said they had tried to reach the Freedom of Russia Legion in July 2023, attempting to cross the border by foot.

Unlike most such cases, the trial was not held behind closed doors.

"I believe the Russian leadership, in the name of the Russian state, has committed a huge crime, the biggest of the 21st century," Ioann Ashcheulov said at the sentencing, according to the Mediazona independent news site.

"My actions... were an attempt to stop this crime," he said.

He stressed he did not believe himself to be a "traitor to Russia", saying: "I am not obliged to support everything the government of the country in which I was born (is doing)."

Alexei Ashcheulov said he does not consider himself a "terrorist" and the youngest brother, Timofey, said he was motivated by a belief that Moscow's actions in Ukraine are a "crime".

The trio are the sons of a Russian Orthodox priest -- Igor Ashcheulov -- who preaches in the western Lipetsk region.

Their large family made the headlines in Russia in 2014, when a state commission visited the household and took away nine children due to unsuitable living conditions, before later handing them back.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has sanctified Moscow's Ukraine offensive.