MOSCOW — A Russian court has sentenced a British man to 13 years in a maximum-security prison camp after convicting him of fighting as a paid mercenary for Ukraine, Russian prosecutors said Thursday.

The man was identified as 30-year-old Hayden Davies, who was tried in a court in Russian-controlled Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed as its own in 2022 — a move rejected by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal.

Russian state prosecutors said, according to Reuters, that Davies traveled to western Ukraine in August 2024, signed a contract with the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, completed military training and later fought against Russian forces in the Donetsk region. They said he was captured in winter 2024 carrying a U.S.-made assault rifle and ammunition.

Prosecutors released a video showing Davies standing behind bars, dressed in a black coat with a shaved head, during questioning. In the footage, Davies said he joined the International Legion and received monthly payments of between $400 and $500. When asked whether he pleaded guilty, he responded affirmatively and nodded.

It was not clear whether Davies was speaking under duress, and there was no immediate comment from Britain’s Foreign Office.

In February, British officials said Davies should be considered a prisoner of war rather than a mercenary and entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions. London also accused Moscow of exploiting prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes.

The International Legion is a unit of Ukraine’s military composed of foreign volunteers.