MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has launched criminal charges against a number of highly-ranked Ukrainian military officials, including the country’s defense minister and the head of the General Staff, as well as Radical Party Leader Oleh Lyashko, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Thursday.
“A criminal case has been launched against Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, Ukrainian Defense Ministry General Staff head Viktor Muzhenko, Ukrainian Grounds Troops Armed Forces Commander Anatoliy Pushnyakov, Ukrainian National Guard Commander Mykola Balan, and other individuals from Ukraine’s Armed Forces and National Guard,” Markin said.
Markin said the highly-ranked military officials have been charged with using prohibited means and methods of conducting war and genocide.
Markin also noted that Ukrainian Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko and individuals from the Azov battalion have also been charged with abducting individuals, torture, and using prohibited means and methods of conducting war and genocide.