MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against Ukrainian political scientist Yuri Romanenko who has called for murdering Russian journalists, official spokesman Vladimir Markin said on Tuesday.

The case against Ukrainian national Romanenko into incitement to murder and hate speech has been launched by the department for investigating crimes linked to the use of banned means and methods of warfare, he said.

In early April, Romanenko recalled on his Facebook page his speech at a conference at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during which he advised the Ukrainian army to "selectively and carefully destroy Russian journalists covering the situation in Ukraine’s south-east."

Markin said the Ukrainian analyst’s speech, which was published in mass media, contained "destructive calls" for mass killings of Russian journalists fulfilling their duty in Ukraine.

"Romanenko’s statements include calls inciting hatred and hostility against the journalists of the Russian Federation as the representatives of the social group," he said.

He reminded that under the Russian criminal code, foreign nationals who do not live in Russia but who have committed a crime outside Russia are to be subject to criminal liability if the crime is aimed against the interests of Russia or Russian nationals.

"That’s why the criminal case against Ukrainian citizen Romanenko has been opened by the Investigative Committee," Markin said.