Ukraine to charge alleged Russian soldiers with terrorism

KIEV, Ukraine, May 20 (UPI) -- Two alleged Russian soldiers, captured in Ukraine last week will be tried for terrorism, a Ukrainian Security Service adviser said Wednesday.

"Investigators have charged detainees (Yevgeny) Yerofeyev and (Alexander) Alexandrov with committing crimes under Article 258-3 of Ukraine's Criminal Code for involvement in terrorist activities," Markian Lubkovsky said on Facebook Wednesday.

It was announced Sunday the two men were wounded and captured during a skirmish between Ukrainian troops and separatists in Shchastya, an eastern Ukrainian town near Luhansk, a separatist stronghold. Rebel leaders identified them as militia members, but Alexandrov, after his capture, said he was a member of the Third Brigade of Russia's special forces, and that he was deployed to Ukraine in March.

Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian defense ministry, said Yarofeyev and Alexandrov "were not on active service in the Russian Armed Forces' at the time of their capture."

Ukraine has claimed Russian soldiers are among those fighting the government in the eastern part of the country; Russia has insisted that, at most, Russian volunteers are in Ukraine.