You're reading: Russia arrests five Ukrainian army officers on war crimes

Russian court has sanctioned the arrest of five Ukrainian army officers detained earlier in Russia on suspicion of using prohibited methods and means of warfare against residents of Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

“A court has sanctioned the investigation’s request to take the suspects into custody as a restrictive measure,” Markin told Interfax on Aug. 8.

The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said earlier that Russian had brought trumped-up charges against five Ukrainian officers.

“Five Ukrainian officers against whom trumped-up charges were brought remain in Russia. At the insistence of the Ukrainian side Ukraine’s consul general in Rostov-on-Don was allowed to visit the detainees. The situation is under his personal control. Ukraine is doing everything possible to protect its citizens,” he said.

As reported, the 72nd and 79th brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were actually encircled and subjected to regular shelling from militants in Ukraine and from Russian territory.

Up to 449 Ukrainian servicemen taking part in the anti-terrorist operation in Ukraine’s eastern regions crossed into Russia amid heavy shelling from August 1 to August 4 with the help of OSCE observers. The soldiers said shortly afterwards that they wanted to return to Ukraine. Most of them left Russia on August 4 and August 5.