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separatists sentenced to death two British fighters and a third from Morocco, who were captured by Russian troops while fighting for , Russian news agencies reported on Thursday.

The "supreme court of the Donetsk People's Republic" ordered the death penalty for Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Saaudun Brahim after the three were accused of acting as mercenaries for Ukraine.

During a trial that lasted three days, the men pleaded guilty to committing "actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the Donetsk People's Republic", news agency Interfax said.

The defendants have one month to appeal the sentence.

The two British citizens surrendered in April in Mariupol, a port city in southern Ukraine that was captured by Russian troops after a weeks-long siege, Interfax said.

Brahim surrendered in March in the eastern town of Volnovakha.

In April, the two Britons were shown on Russian state TV, demanding that Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiate their release.