Russia has placed 72 Ukrainian soldiers under investigation over the past three years
In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin said that since 2014, agents of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation have initiated 146 criminal cases against 72 officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including 20 persons from ranks of Ukraine’s highest military leadership.
"For three years, Ukrainian military personnel have repeatedly fired at civilian objects, including houses, schools, and hospitals in the Donbas, using heavy weapons, which has caused the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation classifies these actions under the article of the Criminal Code on “the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare," said the Head of the Commission. The newspaper notes that overall, according to Bastrykin, 209 criminal cases related to the events in Ukraine have been investigated since 2014.
The Russian Investigative Committee opened new cases against the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Stepan Poltorak, and the country’s Chief of the General Staff, Viktor Muzhenko, in September. Additional cases have also been opened against 18 other officials of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.