Armenian Mercenary Armen Balayan Arrested in Russia Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison: Zakharova

Armen Balayan, an Armenian mercenary arrested in Russia in October 2024, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. This was announced by Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a news briefing.

“Russian courts continue to convict Ukrainian neo-Nazis. Captured members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have received lengthy prison sentences for crimes committed against civilians and Russian servicemen in the Kursk region. Oleg Artyukh was sentenced to 26 years, Alexander Mokriyenkov to 17 years, Vitaly Melitskin and Vyacheslav Shchurov to 16 years each, and Taras Milyan, Vladimir Yeroshenko, Dmytro Semenchuk, Bohdan Bodak, and Artyom Kovalchuk to 15 years each. Alexander Babich received 14.5 years in prison. In March 2022, members of the 'Azov' battalion Anatoly Kamishenko and Yevgeny Vintovkin were sentenced to 22 years for the deliberate murder of civilians in Mariupol,” Zakharova stated.

According to her, “legionnaires from Great Britain and Argentina” William Page and Sebastian Caceres were sentenced in absentia to 14 and 6 years in prison, respectively.