The actions of Ukrainian forces have led to 5,000 casualties in the region since 2014, Moscow’s top investigator has said
Alexander Bastrykin © Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov
Ukrainian forces have killed over 5,000 people in Donbass since 2014, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, has said. He made his comment while describing the work of his agency in prosecuting the alleged crimes of the “Kiev regime” during the International Youth Legal Forum in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
“[We act] first remotely, then on site. Exposing the instances of mass burials of civilians,” he explained.
There are 138 minors among the victims, for whom the committee seeks to bring justice, Bastrykin revealed. Over 9,500 civilians, including 444 children, were injured in Donbass by Ukrainian fire during the same period of time, the official added.
Earlier this week, the Donetsk People’s Republic claimed over 4,500 of its residents had lost their lives since the start of the escalation of the conflict in Donbass on February 17, days before Moscow launched its military operation. Some 135 children were among those killed, the DPR mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues related to Ukrainian war crimes stated. Kiev escalated attacks against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in mid-February 2022.
READ MORE: Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk kills at least two – monitor
The DPR and LPR rejected the 2014 US-backed coup in Kiev and demanded great autonomy, to which the new authorities responded by deploying military and nationalist volunteer units to quash the rebellion. Moscow cited Ukraine’s years-long refusal to implement a plan for Donbass reconciliation and continued shellings of its settlements as some of the biggest reasons for sending troops into the area.
In September, the two republics, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, overwhelmingly supported joining Russia during referendums, getting formally incorporated into the country shortly after.
