Valeria Goldenberg Mikhailovna, a 60-year-old woman from the Crimean village of Solnechnaya Dolina, was sentenced to two years in jail by the Court of Sudak in the Russian-occupied territory, for smearing blood and excrement on the grave of a Russian soldier who died in action, in Ukraine. 

Mikhailovna, who is retired, was born in Poltava, Ukraine, and has been living in Crimea for the past 17 years, as per Zenger News, which cited local media. 

She reportedly said she was against Russia invading Ukraine, which began when President Vladimir Putin sent his troops in on February 24. Mikhailovna also expressed a stand against Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. 

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The woman reportedly has family all over Ukraine and was worried for their safety. She is believed to have committed the act as revenge for the death of a classmate and his family. 

The act of desecration was reported to the police by the mother of, Valentin Isaychev, the dead soldier. Mikhailovna admitted her actions to the police, following which she was placed in custody before the trial. Apart from jail time, she’s also been fined, and the courts reportedly found her to be of sound mind during her actions and the hearing. 

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“Since I am against the fact that Russia attacked Ukraine, then around April 4, 2022, when I learned that the servicemen had liberated Bucha, Irpen, Gostomel, Kyiv region, I decided to pour blood over the grave of a Russian serviceman who fought and died on the territory Ukraine. Russian servicemen are killing civilians there”, a local media report quoted her saying. 

Since Russia began its “special military operation” in Ukraine, the nation has been accused of committing war crimes and targeting civilians in airstrikes. The discovery of mass graves in Bucha, near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has incensed the global community further.