Russian military serviceman Alexander Alexandrov is to remain in custody until October 17; the preliminary investigation has been extended until the same date, said Oksana Sokolovska, the lawyer for another Russian military serviceman charged in Ukraine, Yevgeny Yerofeyev.

"The pretrial inquiry into Alexandrov was on September 7 extended until October 17, in breach of the deadlines. The court has now extended the custody term until October 17," the lawyer said on Thursday.

As for Yerofeyev, the defense attorney demanded a recusal of the judge; no decision has yet been made to extend the inquiry and the custody period, she said. The prosecutor did ask for an inquiry extension and preparations were underway to extend the custody period and therefore the preliminary investigation, she said.

In Ukraine, Alexandrov and Yerofeyev face criminal charges, including participating in and waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, moving weapons and ammunitions without customs control, possessing and passing firearms, assisting a terrorist organization and committing a terrorist attack which killed Ukrainian military servicemen (Article 5 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code).