A Russian court has sentenced two Russian soldiers to life in prison for killing a family of nine in occupied Ukraine, in a rare example of the country holding its troops to account for alleged war crimes.
The entire Kapkanets family were killed in their home in the Donetsk region last year by Anton Sopov, 21, and Stanislav Rau, 28, prosecutors said. Among the victims were two children aged five and nine.
Some details of the case are unclear, such as whether the soldiers pleaded guilty, as the trial was held behind closed doors due to military secrecy, Russian media reported.
Ukrainian officials at the time said they believed the family was murdered for refusing to give up their house to the Russian troops.
Russia denies all allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, despite well-documented evidence to the contrary.
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