It has been established that these attacks involved
large caliber weapons including self-propelled artillery platforms and multiple
rocket launchers.
MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has identified the Ukrainian military officials involved in the shelling of Russia’s territory in 2014, Committee Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told TASS.
"Our investigators together with the Federal
Security Service and the Interior Ministry have established that commander of
the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Military Forces Andrei
Grishchenko, who is now head of the ‘South’ Operational Command of the
Ukrainian Army, as well as commander of the 27th Rocket Artillery Regiment
Colonel Valery Ismailov have been involved in organizing the shelling,"
Petrenko said.
They have been charged in absentia depending on their
role in the crime under Articles 105 and 317 of the Russian Criminal Code
(murder, attempted murder, attempt on the lives of law enforcers).
The Investigative Committee continues to look into the
shelling of Russia’s territory in the June to August period, 2014, that wounded
many people while an elderly resident of the city of Donetsk (Russia’s Rostov
region) died when his house came under the Ukrainian military’s fire.
"It has been established that these attacks
involved large caliber weapons including self-propelled artillery platforms and
multiple rocket launchers," the Investigative Committee spokesperson said.
According to her, "in some cases, the Ukrainian military acted like
terrorists usually do, re-striking crowded areas." For instance, in
Petrenko’s words, when a group of investigators arrived at a place that had
come under Ukrainian military’s fire, they were shelled with mortars. "The
number of shells was growing which shows that there was an artillery
controller," Petrenko noted.
Dozens of sites have been examined during the
investigation, 140 forensic examinations have been conducted, over 1,000
witnesses have been questioned. "Taking into consideration all the
collected evidence, it is clear that the Ukrainian military was acting
deliberately. No hostilities were carried out in the areas that came under
their fire, there were only civilian facilities. At the same time, the number
of artillery salvos shows that Russia’s territory was bombarded
deliberately," the Investigative Committee spokesperson said.
"Despite the fact that the Ukrainian authorities is
inclined to turn a blind eye to the specific crimes against the country’s
Russian-speaking population as well as Russian citizens, the Investigative
Committee will continue to establish the circumstances surrounding the crimes
in which the Ukrainian military officials are involved," Petrenko
concluded.
Source: ITAR-TASS 06-12-2016
