Three Ukrainian OSCE staff members, Shabanov, Petrov, and another unnamed colleague, were convicted of espionage by a court in Donetsk, Russia, and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously accused the OSCE monitors of being biased and illegal, leading to their detention. Human rights activist Maksym Butkevych claims that Shabanov was tortured during interrogation, suffering from back and leg problems due to his captivity. The Finnish OSCE Chairperson, Elina Valtonen, has called for their immediate release, while Ukraine's ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, Yurii Vitrenko, has urged other countries with influence over Russia to pressure for their release.