Russian court convicts 23 Ukrainian captives on terror charges

Russian soldiers patrol an area of the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal (AP)

Russia has convicted 23 captured Ukrainians on terrorism charges stemming from the fighting in Ukraine in a trial that Kyiv denounced as a sham and a violation of international law.

The defendants included 14 current or former fighters of the elite Azov brigade, which Russia designated a terrorist group, and nine women and one man who worked as cooks or support personnel, according to Russian media reports and rights activists.