Former U.S. ambassadors, military, and experts appealed to Ukraine due to the case of the IL-76 shot down in Luhansk in 2014, urging them to reconsider the decision on punishing General Viktor Nazarov. “We fear that the continued practice of abdicating to civilian prosecutors and judges, who neither have the experience nor the expertise to evaluate demands of battlefield decision-making, subverts Ukrainian security. Neither the United States nor other Western states militarily supporting Ukraine would ever allow their commanders to be treated in the manner as was General Nazarov. At a time when Russia continues the war in Donbas, Ukraine must encourage the commitment, fighting spirit, and initiative of its military personnel. The prosecution of General Nazarov has the very opposite effect,” the officials said in a statement released on the Atlantic Council’s website on Jan. 11.
According to the document, as the Hodges/Karber report notes, Ukraine should not punish military commanders for “making tough decisions under high uncertainty and difficult circumstances.” “This sends a very negative message, undermining Ukraine’s military officers, and could affect how other countries assess Ukraine’s military when they make decisions regarding military support for Ukraine,” the officials said in the statement.
The document, in particular, was signed by Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute Dr. Stephen Blank; Deputy Director of Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Center Melinda Haring; Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan John Herbst; Former Commander U.S. Army Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Stephen Pifer; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Popadiuk; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor; former NATO Deputy Secretary-General, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow.
They offered the Presidential Administration, Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the National Security and Defense Council to ensure a meticulous review of this matter at the highest level, taking into utmost account the deep concerns of so many of Ukraine’s senior and experienced battlefield commanders and, given Ukraine’s application for NATO membership, reconsidered in light of Western practice.
” Ensure that the trial of military officers in matters related to decisions made in combat or otherwise during time of war is conducted in a military court, before a military judge and with a jury of operationally experienced military officers. Maintain the stay of incarceration of General Nazarov and freeze any other measures against him until completion of such high-level review, with his treatment and civilian verdict reassessed with respect to those findings,” they said in the statement.
As reported, on the night of June 14, 2014, a military transport aircraft of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Il-76 was shot down by a shot from an anti-aircraft missile system while landing at an airfield in Luhansk. On board the Il-76 were 40 Ukrainian servicemen and 9 crew members. They all died.
