 (1).png){kind=spacer}
1 month ago
8
A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced a Ukrainian man to 25 years in prison for the murder of an army recruitment officer and former submarine commander.
The convicted man, Sergei Denysenko, was arrested in July last year, two days after the killing of recruitment official Stanislav Rzhitsky, who was shot dead while jogging in a park in the southern city of Krasnodar.
A court in Krasnodar found Denysenko guilty of murder and treason, saying he had joined an "organized group" whose leadership assigned him to kill Rzhitsky "over his activities in service," according to Russia's Investigative Committee.
Denysenko was ordered to serve five years in prison and the rest of the sentence in a strict-regime penal colony. He was also ordered to pay five million rubles ($51,000) in compensation to the dead man's father.
A video released by the court showed Denysenko with white cropped hair and beard shaking his head and shrugging as the sentence was read.
Rzhitsky worked as the deputy to the Krasnodar city administration official in charge of mobilization operations for the army. Previously, he was commander of the Krasnodar submarine.
Investigators said Denysenko learned the Rzhitsky's jogging routine and then laid in wait for him in a wooded area of the park in the early morning. Rzhitsky was shot at least eight times.
Denysenko, a qualified karate trainer, is Ukrainian and gained Russian citizenship a few months before the murder.
Ukrainian media linked Rzhitsky's murder to his role as a submarine commander in the Black Sea Fleet, reporting that the Krasnodar submarine took part in missile strikes on the city of Vinnytsia in July 2022, killing around 27 people.
The Kommersant business daily reported that Rzhitsky had left his submarine post in 2021.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Continue
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.
