Aleksandr Nikulin (judge) explained

Aleksandr Nikulin (Russian: Александр Никулин) is a Donetsk People's Republic supreme court judge since 2019.^[1] In 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he presided the trial of captured Ukrainian and foreign soldiers who surrendered following the Siege of Mariupol and Azovstal plant. The event was described as a show trial, ending in June 2022 with death penalty to foreign prisoners Britons Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan Brahim Saadoune,^[2] Nikulin describing them as "Nazi".^[3] On November 4, 2022, Nikulin was shot by unknown attackers in Vuhlehirsk and left in critical condition, in what appears to be an assassination attempt.^{[4] [5]} Denis Pushilin, leader of the DPR, accused Ukraine of commanding the assassination.

References

1. News: Nechepurenko . Ivan . 2022-11-05 . A judge who sentenced volunteer fighters to death in occupied Ukraine is shot in an apparent assassination attempt. . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-11-06 . 0362-4331.
2. News: 2022-06-09 . Two Britons, one Moroccan sentenced to death by court of Russian proxy in Ukraine . en . Reuters . 2022-11-06.
3. News: 2022-11-05 . Attackers injure pro-Russia judge who sentenced foreigners to death in Ukraine . en . Reuters . 2022-11-06.
4. Web site: Agence France-Presse . 2022-11-05 . Judge in Russia-occupied Ukraine in 'serious' condition after assassination attempt . 2022-11-06 . the Guardian . en.
5. Web site: Оккупанты заявили о покушении на "судью Верховного суда ДНР", вынесшего смертные приговоры иностранцам . 2022-11-07 . Украинская правда . ru.