Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, 47, a former U.S. journalist who briefly served as a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia by a court in occupied eastern Ukraine, Russian authorities announced Monday.
Ashton-Cirillo traveled from the U.S. to Ukraine in March 2022 to cover Russia’s invasion and later joined the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces. She was appointed English-language spokesperson for the force in August 2023.
Ukraine’s military suspended her the following month after she said Kyiv would “hunt down” Russian state-affiliated journalists. Those remarks drew Moscow’s condemnation and led Russian authorities to pursue criminal charges against her.
Last year, Russia accused Ashton-Cirillo of fighting as a mercenary and spreading “fake news” about the Russian military. She was placed on Russia’s wanted list and added to a registry of “extremists and terrorists.”
Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said the Moscow-installed Supreme Court in the occupied Donetsk region found her guilty on both charges.
Prosecutors stated Ashton-Cirillo participated in combat operations and published a video in August 2023 accusing Russia of using biological weapons in Syria and Ukraine.
She was sentenced to 20 years in a medium-security prison. Sentences in absentia typically take effect only if the individual is extradited to Russia.
