Russian general who wanted to take Kyiv in 3 days sentenced to life imprisonment – Prosecutor General

One of the Russian generals who directed the attempt to seize Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion has been sentenced to life imprisonment, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has said.

"We are talking about Alexander Lapin, a colonel-general of the armed forces of Russia, the former commander of the Central Military District of Russia. It was he who headed the Russian military grouping ‘Center’ and directed the offensive from the territory of Belarus and Russia in the direction of Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions and the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv," the Prosecutor General said in a statement on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.

According to Kravchenko, the court found the Russian general guilty of encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, as well as of planning, preparing, unleashing, and conducting an aggressive war.

"Prosecutors proved: in February-March 2022, this general was not a formal commander ‘on paper.’ He directly organized the invasion, planned and coordinated the actions of subordinate units, gave orders, and ensured the continuation of hostilities against Ukraine," the Prosecutor General said.

The report specifies that it was under the command of this general that Russian troops occupied settlements in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions and advanced toward Kyiv along the left bank of the Dnipro River. "Their goal was to seize the Ukrainian capital, state authorities, and military command, and to establish occupational control," the Prosecutor General said.

Since the convict is currently hiding in Russia, the sentence was passed in absentia. The term of serving the sentence will begin from the moment of his actual detention.