News

The military investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation have initiated two criminal cases against servicemen of the 25^th separate airborne brigade, as well as the 56^th separate motorized infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the grounds of a crime under Part 1, Article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (ill-treatment of the civilian population, the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare).

It has been established that on May 10, from 1 p.m., servicemen of the 25^th separate airborne brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while stationed in the town of Avdeevka, the Donetsk People’s Republic, shelled Kievsky Raion of the city of Donetsk with twenty 122-mm projectiles of the BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system contrary to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, the Convention on the Laws and Customs of Land Warfare (The Hague, 18.10.1907), as well as the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Population in Time of War dated 12.08.1949 and its Protocol.

On the same day, at about 11 a.m.,   servicemen of the 56^th separate motorized infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while stationed in the town of Peski, the Donetsk People’s Republic, shelled Kirovsky Raion of the city of Donetsk with the BM-27 Uragan multiple launch rocket system also in violation of international laws that enshrine the right of every person to life, freedom and personal integrity and prohibit attacks on undefended cities and towns, as well as encroach on the life and physical integrity of non-combatants.

As a result of these illegal actions, eight civilians suffered shrapnel wounds of varying severity.

Military investigators are taking measures aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident, as well as identifying the persons involved in the commission of these crimes.

The criminal cases’ preliminary investigation is ongoing.