You're reading: Russia brings criminal charges against Avakov, Kolomoisky

Moscow - The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against Dnipropetrovsk Region Governor Ihor Kolomoisky and Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov on the counts of organizing murder and using outlawed methods of war.

“They are suspected of organizing murder, using outlawed methods and means of war, organizing abduction and impeding the lawful activity of a journalist,” Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax on Wednesday, June 18.

According to the detectives, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov “collaborating with Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoisky who had been appointed as the Dnipropetrovsk Region Governor and other officials organized in the period since April 12, 2014, with the purpose of killing civilians and supervised an army operation of servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under his control and subordination, armed members of the Ukrainian National Guard and the Right Sector and servicemen of the Dnipro special-purpose battalion of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry formed and financed by Kolomoisky.”

“During that operation Grad multiple rocket launchers, unguided air-to-surface cluster missiles and other types of heavy offensive indiscriminative weapons were used in the bombardment of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Donetsk, Mariupol and other populated localities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in violation of international legal norms, intentionally, with the purpose of killing an unlimited number of civilians in a socially dangerous way and motivated by political hate,” the Russian Investigative Committee spokesman continued.

As a result, more than 100 citizens, including Russian citizens operating in the line of duty – journalists Kornelyuk and Voloshin and human rights defender Mironov – and an Italian citizen, photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli, were killed, over 200 civilians sustained health damage of various degrees and more than 500 homes were fully or partially damaged and burned.

“Public utilities and vital infrastructure, hospitals and children’s and general education facilities were also destroyed. As a result, more than 50,000 residents of the aforementioned republics had to flee their homes and come to the Russian territory,” Markin said.

In his words, “Zvezda television channel journalists Sushenkov and Malyshev were abducted and journalists Davydov and Konashenkov of the same television channel were illegally captured alongside a number of other Russian journalists” with the knowledge of A. Avakov, I. Kolomoisky and a number of senior officials of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

“The work to be done by the Russian Investigative Committee in the upcoming criminal inquiries will help reconstruct details of the crimes committed on the Ukrainian territory. We have enough grounds to suspect that Avakov and Kolomoisky and their dirty money are behind these [crimes],” Markin said.