The Russian citizens detained in the fighting area in the Luhansk region said during a session at Kyiv's Holosiyivsky District Court on Tuesday that the Prosecutor's Office was exerting pressure on them.

"They are putting pressure on us because they want us to give the testimony that will suit the prosecutors," one of the Russians facing trial, Alexander Alexandrov, told reporters.

When asked to specify what kind of threats and pressure he has encountered, Alexandrov said: "From disappearance to a life sentence."

For his part, a consul of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Alexei Gruby, told reporters he was convinced that this criminal case had political motives.

"The only thing I can say it is obvious for us that there is a political order to convict our citizens," he told reporters after the court session.

The aim of such a "political order" is to "show an allegedly Russian military presence in the territory of Ukraine, which does not exist," Gruby said.

"First, they are former servicemen of the Russian army. There is a statement about this from the Defense Ministry. I am more than certain that the defense team has arguments and material evidence proving this fact," the consul said.