A Serbian national was sentenced on Friday for taking part in the conflict in Ukraine in 2015.

According to Radio Free Europe, Vlado Stanic (31) was sentenced to a year in jail which the judge said is the minimum for engagement in a conflict in another country.

Stanic was arrested on July 15 at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. He joined pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in March 2015 and was a member of the Hussar Regiment paramilitary. Prosecutors said he was part of personnel at a checkpoint in the uniform of the Luganks and Donetsk Republic.

“I am a Serb volunteer. It was a great honor and pride for me to have defended our Russian brethren. I would not regret this if I was sentenced to 100 years in prison,” he said.