The Novoaidar District Court in Luhansk region has sentenced Russian citizen Viktor Ageyev to ten years in prison on terrorism counts, Ageyev's lawyer Viktor Chevguz said on Facebook on Thursday.

"Today, the Novoaidar District Court in the Luhansk region sentenced Russian citizen Viktor Ageyev to ten years in prison," Chevguz said.

The court finalized the inquiry into Ageyev's case, and the sides presented their arguments on Wednesday. "The prosecutor described the self-proclaimed LPR as a terrorist organization, in which Russian citizen Ageyev enrolled under a contract," he said.

Ageyev was also charged with illegal possession and carrying of firearms and ammunition. The prosecutor demanded 12 years and property confiscation for Ageyev.

The defense believes that the prosecutor's classification of Ageyev's conduct under Part 1, Article 258-3 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (membership in a terrorist organization) is erroneous. The court has agreed with the prosecutor's opinion, but we will appeal the sentence from the angle of classification and penalty. We believe that the ten-year sentence is too severe, considering the alleviating circumstances," Chevguz said.

The Ukrainian military detained four persons, including Ageyev, near the village of Zholobok in Slovianoserbsk district of Luhansk region on June 24, 2017.