MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. More than 500 Ukrainian fighters have been held criminally responsible for the crimes against civilians in Donbass, Chief of Russia's Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said.

"Five hundred and sixteen people are being held criminally responsible for committing the said crimes against the peace and security of mankind, including representatives of the Ukrainian Supreme Command, as well as commanders of military units that carried out shelling of civilians," he said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

According to Bastrykin, more than 350 Ukrainian military officers, including representatives of the Ukrainian nationalist Azov battalion (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), have already been convicted on the basis of the criminal case files of the Investigative Committee. In total, since 2014, more than 5,000 criminal cases have been opened in connection with the events in Ukraine against 1,046 individuals, including representatives of the Ukrainian military and political leadership. Almost 3,000 criminal cases have been merged as part of the general criminal case on the use of prohibited means and methods in the armed conflict. More than 265,000 people have been questioned in this criminal case, and over 132,000 people, including 24,340 children, have been recognized as victims.