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Russia starts investigation of mass casualties after Ukrainian strike on Kramatorsk

The clause is about cruel treatment of civilians and utilization in an armed conflict of equipment that’s banned by an international treaty signed by Russia

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has started a criminal case into mass civilian casualties resulting from the strike on Kramatorsk by a Tochka-U missile fired by the Ukrainian armed forces that killed at least 30 people, the agency told TASS in a statement.

"The main investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee started a criminal case against a brigade commander of the armed forces of Ukraine and other unidentified people," the agency said in a statement. "The investigation has established their actions show signs of a crime provided for in Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code."

The clause is about cruel treatment of civilians and utilization in an armed conflict of equipment that’s banned by an international treaty signed by Russia.

The investigation established, according to the statement, that troops of the 19th separate missile brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces executed intentionally criminal orders of the brigade’s commander and other superiors and officials of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Acting intentionally, they fired a Tochka-U tactical missile system toward civilian infrastructure in the area of a railway station of the town of Kramatorsk of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the statement said. As a result of the shelling, at least 30 civilians, including children, were killed and at least 100 people suffered wounds of various severity, the agency said.

The Investigative Committee said it has information that Colonel F.S. Yaroshevich is the commander of the 19th separate missile brigade. Investigators are making efforts to identify persons that carried out the criminal order, it said.

"The Ukrainian side has disseminated intentionally false information that the strike on the town was delivered by Russian servicemen," the agency said. "A criminal case has been opened to look into this fact as it shows signs of a crime provided for in Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (public dissemination of false information about the use of the Russian armed forces)."

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