Trial of Anton Cherednik
Cherednik, a member of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, was accused of murdering a civilian he suspected of being a Russian spy, taking part in terrorist activities and attempting to "forcibly seize power" in the Donetsk People's Republic.[2] On March 27, Cherednik and another soldier were patrolling in the Mirny area of Mariupol when they encountered and stopped two civilians, Oleksandr Piskunov and Sergei Potseluev.Cherednik allegedly fired several rounds from his machine gun at the civilians, forced them to lie on the ground and struck one of them with his weapon.[2][4] At the start of his trial on April 4, 2023, Cherednik pleaded "partly guilty" to the charges, and Bakulov requested a meeting with the judge to explain his client's situation.[10] Anton Baydrakov, the soldier who had accompanied Cherednik the day of the incident and provided testimony against him, was himself convicted of war crimes in December 2023.