Russian special forces soldier caught in Donbass was offered political asylum - lawyer

The SBU offered Russian citizen Yevgeny Yerofeyev taken prisoner in the Donbas political asylum in Ukraine. This was reported by the lawyer of the detainee Oksana Sokolovskaya.

The lawyer said pressure was put on her client by investigators and prison staff where he was being held. “They accuse him of betraying the Russian Federation. They told him that he would get to the Russian Federation - they would kill him there, he would sit all his life and so on. They are trying in every possible way to pressure him to open all the cards that are possible, ”said Sokolovskaya.

She noted that Erofeev was offered to be given a minimum period in case of political asylum.

Yevgeny Yerofeyev and another Russian citizen, Alexander Alexandrov, were detained in the middle of May during a battle in the Luhansk region. Both of them were injured and were hospitalized. Later they were sent to the detention center. They are charged with terrorism.

On June 10, the Kyiv Court of Appeal confirmed the legality of Erofeev’s arrest. Also, it became known that earlier the court in a closed meeting upheld the decision to arrest Alexandrov.

Ukrainian authorities call Yerofeyev a captain, and Aleksandrov calls a GRU sergeant. The detainees confirmed these allegations. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that Erofeev and Aleksandrov had previously actually served in the Russian army, but at the time of the arrest they were not active military personnel.

Earlier, Russia renounced their military and called the captured special forces "mercenaries."

At the court hearing, 10 June, Yerofeyev reaffirmed that he serves in the Russian armed forces.