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Military operation in Ukraine

Russia brings war crime charges against Ukrainian officer

Russia’s Investigative Committee accused Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Plotnikov, commander of a self-propelled artillery battalion, with cruel treatment of civilians and the use of prohibited methods of warfare

MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has filed charges against a Ukrainian field artillery officer for abuses against civilians, the committee’s press service said in a statement.

The Committee accused Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Plotnikov, commander of a self-propelled artillery battalion, with cruel treatment of civilians and the use of prohibited methods of warfare, according to the statement.

Plotnikov, being aware that localities in the Donetsk People’s Republic are inhabited by civilians not engaged in fighting, gave orders, from February 25 to March 10, 2022, to shell residential buildings and civil infrastructure from Akatsiya 152 mm self-propelled guns in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war.

Plotnikov pleaded guilty and acknowledged the offence, according the Investigative Committee.

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Military operation in Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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