The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation into the discovery in Donbass of five mass graves of local residents who died in 2014, allegedly as a result of “indiscriminate shelling by Ukrainian armed groups.” This was reported on the website of the department.

The Investigative Committee accused “representatives of the Ukrainian security forces” of using prohibited methods of warfare and constant shelling of settlements in Donbass, which, in particular, resulted in “the death and injury of thousands of civilians, Russian-speaking groups.”

While investigating these actions, the department received information about mass graves that were forced to be organized outside the cemeteries due to ongoing hostilities.

In August-October 2021, burials were discovered near the city of Snezhnoye, the village of Slavyanoserbsk, near the residential area Sokogorovka in the city of Pervomaisk, the village of Vidnoye-1 near Lugansk and on the outskirts of the village of Verkhneshevyrevka, Krasnodonsky district. Of these, according to the UK, the remains of at least 295 civilians were recovered, including the bodies of women of different ages.

In this regard, the department opened a criminal case on the ill-treatment of the civilian population, the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare (Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 20 years.

(C)MEDUZA 2022