The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office approved and submitted to the court an indictment against three soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of persons (part 2 of Article 28, part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, in May 2022, during the occupation of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast, three soldiers of the 39th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade belonging to the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District, stopped a car with two civilians.

The Russian soldiers fired two shots from a Kalashnikov rifle near the car’s front wheels. After that, the occupiers demanded money from the men, adding that they would shoot them dead if he refused.
After taking the money from the victims, the Russian soldiers left. Thanks to the operational measures taken, law enforcement officers and the victims identified the Russian soldiers.

The defendants will be tried in absentia in Pavlohrad City District Court of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The Security Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast conducted the pre-trial investigation with operational support provided by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Note: According to Art. 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and shall not be subjected to criminal punishment until his or her guilt is proved by the law and established by a court verdict of guilty.

Read also: Russian pilot sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for bombing Kharkiv. A Su-34 pilot of the Russian Armed Forces who carried out air strikes on civilian infrastructure was found guilty of violating the laws and customs of war.

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