Ukraine has evidence that Russian attack on Red Cross workers in Donetsk region was deliberate

This is a message from the Prosecutor General’s Office, reports Ukrinform.

On September 12, the Russian army committed another war crime in the Donetsk region.

At a humanitarian aid distribution point in the village of Viroliubivka in the Kostiantynivka regional municipality, Russian troops fired barrel artillery at three vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Five Red Cross employees were affected by the shelling.

Three men were killed at the scene. Two of their colleagues suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office has initiated an investigation into violation of the laws and customs of war in connection with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code).

Police officers identified two artillery shell impact sites and one attack drone impact site.

Fragments of the said ammunition and the remains of an unmanned aerial vehicle were removed from the scene.

As a result of the investigation, inspection of the crime scene, as well as interrogation and questioning of witnesses, it was established that the artillery shelling was carried out with two 152-mm high-explosive artillery shells and the Lancet panic ammunition in use exclusively by the Russian Armed Forces.

“The 152mm projectiles were used together with a drone that has a laser rangefinder and independently detects and attacks the target. This not only explains the wreckage of the Lancet drone found at the scene, but also indicates the deliberate nature of the attack on vehicles and personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” said Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.

Taking into account the traces of damage to the surrounding buildings and cars, as well as the recorded locations of the ammunition impacts, the direction of the impact was determined. According to the investigation, the firing positions of the artillery units were probably located near the village of Yahidne in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region, the territory temporarily captured by Russian troops.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the 1065th Artillery Regiment of the 98th Airborne Division and an artillery unit of the 200th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade are taking part in the hostilities in the area from which the shot was fired.

The Russian units in question are armed with artillery systems firing 152 mm projectiles and Lancet combat drones.

The criminal investigation is still ongoing.

Photo credit: Attorney General’s Office