Donetsk region's Artemivsky City-District court in Bakhmut on August 23 issued a 5-year prison sentence, but in the same verdict released the "Donetsk People's Republic' fighter Oleksandr Nevedrov from serving a 3-year prison term for guarding wreckage of the Mayalsian passenger airliner downed over Donbas in July 2014 (MH17 flight).

The court had been considering the case since the end of February 2019.

According to the decision, published on August 27 in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, a native of the village of Vilkhоvatka in Donetsk region with multiple convictions who has been employed since April 2, 2018 by a motor transport utility company in the town of Toretsk, joined the ranks of the illegal armed group of the so-called "DPR" at the end of June 2014. "

With weapons in his hands, Nevedrov guarded a number of checkpoints, in particular, in the village of Petropavlivka in the Shakhtar District, and guarded the wreckage of a downed Malaysian passenger airliner Boeing 777 (МH17) near the village, the court said.

The defendant in court fully pleaded guilty to the commission of the crimes imputed to him. The court also noted that he was disabled, had positive characteristics and had two minor children.

According to the conditional sentence, the convicted person is only required to periodically appear for registration with the authorized body for probation; inform the authorized body on probation about the change of place of residence, work.