<p>A pro-Russian separatist leader in eastern Ukraine said Sunday he would not alter the death sentences handed to two Britons and a Moroccan for fighting with the Ukrainian army.</p>.<p>"They came to Ukraine to kill civilians for money. That's why I don't see any conditions for any mitigation or modification of the sentence," Denis Pushilin, the leader of the separatist Donetsk region, which tried them, told reporters.</p>.<p>Pushilin said the court had "issued a perfectly fair punishment" to the three fighters.</p>.<p>He also accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of ignoring their fate and failing to contact the separatist authorities.</p>.<p>Pushilin was speaking at a press conference attended by <em>AFP</em> in Mariupol, the capital of the breakaway area, as part of a trip organised by the Russian defence ministry to the battle-scarred Ukrainian city which was captured by Russian and separatist forces in May.</p>.<p>On Saturday, Johnson's spokesman said he was "appalled" by the death sentences handed down to Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadun.</p>.<p>"It is clear they were Ukrainian armed forces members and are therefore prisoners of war," and not mercenaries as the separatist authorities in Donetsk accuse them of being, the spokesman said.</p>.<p>According to the families of Aslin and Pinner, the two men have been living in the country since 2018.</p>.<p>On Friday, the United Nations expressed concern over the death sentences handed down against the prisoners by pro-Russian rebels.</p>
<p>A pro-Russian separatist leader in eastern Ukraine said Sunday he would not alter the death sentences handed to two Britons and a Moroccan for fighting with the Ukrainian army.</p>.<p>"They came to Ukraine to kill civilians for money. That's why I don't see any conditions for any mitigation or modification of the sentence," Denis Pushilin, the leader of the separatist Donetsk region, which tried them, told reporters.</p>.<p>Pushilin said the court had "issued a perfectly fair punishment" to the three fighters.</p>.<p>He also accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of ignoring their fate and failing to contact the separatist authorities.</p>.<p>Pushilin was speaking at a press conference attended by <em>AFP</em> in Mariupol, the capital of the breakaway area, as part of a trip organised by the Russian defence ministry to the battle-scarred Ukrainian city which was captured by Russian and separatist forces in May.</p>.<p>On Saturday, Johnson's spokesman said he was "appalled" by the death sentences handed down to Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadun.</p>.<p>"It is clear they were Ukrainian armed forces members and are therefore prisoners of war," and not mercenaries as the separatist authorities in Donetsk accuse them of being, the spokesman said.</p>.<p>According to the families of Aslin and Pinner, the two men have been living in the country since 2018.</p>.<p>On Friday, the United Nations expressed concern over the death sentences handed down against the prisoners by pro-Russian rebels.</p>