A Russian court has sentenced five foreign nationals, including Croatian Vjekoslav Prebeg, in their absence to imprisonment for fighting on the side of Ukraine as mercenaries, the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant reported.

Mathias Gustavsson of Sweden, Vjekoslav Prebeg of Croatia and John Harding and Andrew Hill of Great Britain were found guilty of mercenary service while Dylan Healy was convicted for complicity in mercenary service.

Gustavsson, Prebeg and Harding were also found guilty of providing training for terrorist activities and for violent seizure of power.

They were sentenced to 23 years in prison, while Healy and Hill were sentenced to four years and three years and six months in prison respectively.

The five men were captured on Ukraine's territory and exchanged in 2022.

Kommersant reports that the men claimed not to have been directly involved in hostilities against the Russian army but to have trained the Ukrainian army.

Prebeg was captured near Mariupol.