Preliminary probes have found that more than 200 members of the Ukrainian military have been involved in “crimes against the peace and security of mankind”, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Monday.
More than 1,300 criminal cases, involving over 400 individuals, have been launched over violations committed by the Ukrainian side since the start of Russia’s military operation on February 24, Alexander Bastrykin told newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
A total of 92 commanders and subordinates have already been charged with the offenses, he revealed.
ccording to the Investigative Committee chief, it had already been established that more than 220 suspects, “including representatives of the high command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and commanders of military units which fired at civilians, had been involved in crimes against the peace and security of mankind, which don’t have a statute of limitations.”
Charges have been filed against 92 Ukrainian commanders and subordinates to date, with 96 suspects being placed on the wanted list, he added.
“There can be no justification for the use of force by the Ukrainian nationalists,” Bastrykin insisted, adding, “They are intensively shelling the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. They brutally and cynically target peaceful citizens, civilian infrastructure, including children’s institutions.”
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He also accused the Ukrainian forces of having struck their own territory “in order to blame the Russian military for this”.
During the conflict, Moscow has insisted that its troops never target civilians, only striking Ukrainian forces and military infrastructure.
More than 7,000 civilian facilities have been destroyed in attacks by the Ukrainian side, including homes, schools and kindergartens, with over 91,000 people being designated as victims, the Investigative Committee chief said.
Сriminal cases have also been launched against citizens of the UK, the US, Canada, Georgia and the Netherlands for their involvement in the conflict as mercenaries, while Ukrainian nationalist units have been accused of torturing Russian POWs, attacking Russian embassies in foreign countries, and other acts, he said.
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