While there is little chance that any of the defendants will serve prison time, a few interesting things came out of the trial.

First, based on a mountain of evidence, Russia was officially labeled as the sponsor and leader of the “rebellion” in Donbas in 2014. This is important as it formalizes what everyone has known but shied away from saying. Russia was shown to have armed the Donbas insurrectionists and provided leaders for key positions.

Second, the convicted men’s claim to “combatant immunity” was disallowed because they were not lawful combatants. That is, the Donbas insurrectionists did not have a clearly defined chain of command, and they did not have an internal disciplinary system or adhere to the law of land warfare.

The latter finding opens the gates for the legal prosecution of members of the LPR/DPR for actions before Russia’s February 24 invasion and taking official command of those militias.