Investigative Committee charged the ex-Minister of Defense of Ukraine for shelling the DNR and LNR

Former Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak has been charged with shelling settlements in the DPR and LPR. About it informs press service of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia.

Poltorak held this post from 2014 to 2019. During this time, due to the shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 2,000 buildings were destroyed or partially damaged, more than 530 civilians were killed, and more than 970 citizens of the republics were injured. The UK clarified that measures are being taken to search for and arrest the ex-minister.

The indictment became known following the trip of the chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin to Donetsk. At the operational meeting on the investigation of crimes committed by Ukrainian formations against the civilian population and Russian military personnel on the territory of Russia and Ukraine, he also heard reports from the acting heads of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions and pointed out the need to respect the rights of participants in the special operation and protect their interests.

In February 2023, Bastrykin in an interview with TASS informedthat since 2014, about 5,000 people have been killed in the Donbass, almost 9,000 have been injured. According to him, more than 120,000 residents of the region were recognized as victims in the framework of the investigation of criminal cases on the crimes of Kyiv. In March, Bastrykin notedthat the Investigative Committee opened more than 2,600 criminal cases on the crimes of the Kyiv regime, including against members of the military and political leadership of Ukraine.