MOSCOW — A Ukrainian court sentenced two Russian men to 14 years in prison on Monday for fighting against Ukraine as active-duty soldiers in the Russian military, a central issue in the separatist war in southeast Ukraine.

The Russian government denies any role in the fighting and the Russian Defense Ministry refuses to acknowledge any ties to the two men. The two were wounded and captured on a battlefield last summer. The government of Ukraine and those of Western nations insist that Russia is actively supporting the pro-Russian separatists.

In the course of the trial, Ukraine claimed to have finally captured — and put in a glass cage in the courtroom in Kiev — two living examples of the suspected thousands of “little green men,” or Russian soldiers fighting on the separatist side in uniforms without insignia.

As such, the pair — Capt. Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Sgt. Aleksandr Aleksandrov — had taken on immense symbolic importance for Ukrainians. The ranks date from their time in the Russian military. The Russian government said both had resigned from the military before leaving the country to fight in Ukraine.