MOSCOW, August 24./TASS/. The Russian Interior Ministry has announced a one-million-ruble ($16,659) reward for any assistance in apprehending two wanted commanders from the notorious Ukrainian nationalist battalion Azov (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization) accused of torturing and killing members of the Russian military, the ministry’s press center told TASS on Wednesday.

"The leadership of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation has decided to announce a reward for any assistance that leads to the capture of the commanders of the Ukrainian nationalist battalion, Konstantin Nemichev and Sergey Velichko, accused of committing a crime under Article 317 of the Russian Criminal Code," the press center said. "During the course of the preliminary investigation, it was established that the above-mentioned individuals had tortured Russian servicemen and killed them with extreme cruelty," the press center added.

The two were put on an international wanted list and arrested in absentia, the ministry said. "A reward of one million rubles was announced for assistance in capturing each of them," it specified.

Currently, Konstantin Nemichev, born in 1996, and Sergey Velichko, born in 1994, are on a federal list of Russia’s ten most wanted and dangerous criminals.