MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. The Russian Investigative Committee (IC) has opened a criminal case over the genocide of the residents of the town of Schastye in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), the IC’s press service told journalists on Monday.

In violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide requirements, the Ukrainian armed forces and other Ukrainian military formations have repeatedly fired from various types of weapons on residential quarters of the city since late February in order to completely destroy Russians and the Russian-speaking population. "Taking this into consideration, the military investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against the persons participating in the armed conflict on the side of Ukraine on the grounds of a crime under Article 357 of the Russian Criminal Code (Genocide)," the IC noted.

The committee specified that as a result of the criminal actions of the Ukrainian security forces in the city, civilians were killed, hundreds were wounded. The exact number of dead and injured will be established in the course of the investigation, which is currently being carried out on the territory of Schastye by Russian military investigators. In addition, at least 331 residential buildings were damaged, some of which were completely destroyed, and civilian infrastructure and life support facilities, including a gas pipeline, a power substation, water supply networks, schools, kindergartens, and public catering facilities, were also destroyed.