WASHINGTON, July 7. /TASS/. The US Department of State has called upon Moscow to carry out an impartial and prompt investigation into the recent attack on journalist Yelena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov.

"The United States is appalled by the brutal beating of renowned journalist Yelena Milashina and attorney Alexander Nemov in Chechnya on July 4. The Russian government should conduct a prompt, impartial, and transparent investigation into the circumstances of this savage attack and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice," Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Thursday.

Milashina and Nemov were assaulted on Tuesday. Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has reached out to the Chechen Investigative Committee, Interior Ministry and prosecutor’s office in connection with the incident. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the incident as "a very serious attack requiring very vigorous action" and said that the president had been briefed about the assault.

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case on two charges: premediated assault resulting in medium-severity bodily harm and premediated assault resulting in light-severity bodily harm. Investigative measures are underway to identify the people involved in the crime and establish the circumstances of the attack, the committee said.