KIEV, April 27 - RAPSI. Former Ukrainian acting Defense Minister Valery Ivashchenko and his two defense attorneys have challenged the five-year prison sentence passed by the Pechersky District Court in Kiev.

Ivashchenko's attorney Boris Nechiporenko said the appeals were filed by both the defense and their client to the Kiev Court of Appeals on Friday.

Ivashchenko was the acting Ukrainian Defense Minister from June 2009 to March 2010.

The Prosecutor General's Office accused him of illegally selling property belonging to Feodosia Ship and Mechanical Plant. The state losses are estimated at 70.9 million hryvnias ($8.8 million).

Ivashchenko was arrested in August 2010 but still pleads not guilty.