The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its resolute protest with regard to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated September 12, 2018 to rescind the verdict against Roman Sushchenko, the citizen of Ukraine and the journalist, who has been sentenced to 12 years of prison in a penal colony following falsified allegations of espionage.

The brief duration of the Supreme Court session and the closed-ended hearing with no presence of the Ukrainian and foreign diplomats as well as media representatives once again showed the customary nature of a falsified case against Roman Sushchenko, as well as the intent of the Russian side to cover up from the world community the actual control of the Russian court system by the Kremlin.

We demand the illegal sentencing of journalist Roman Sushchenko be immediately cancelled and his release and return to Ukraine be ensured.

We call on the world community, international human rights institutions to strengthen political and economic pressure on the Russian Federation so that Roman Sushchenko gets released and returned to Ukraine as well as other Ukrainian citizens who have become hostages of the Kremlin's current policy in the face of ongoing aggression against Ukraine.