The Office of the Prosecutor General continues to take measures to hold accountable representatives of the authorities and armed forces of the Russian Federation for the planning, initiation, and conduct of an aggressive war against Ukraine aimed at violating its territorial integrity, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

During the investigation, evidence was obtained regarding the involvement in committing war crimes of the commander of the 44th separate aviation regiment of special purpose long-range aviation of the Russian Federation Air Force.

The commander of the 44th separate aviation regiment of special purpose long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, from October 15, 2022, to March 9, 2023, acting in collusion with the military command of the Russian Federation, with the aim of forcing the leadership of Ukraine to make territorial and political concessions favorable to the Russian Federation, grossly violated the laws and customs of war as provided by international treaties, ensuring the delivery of strikes by subordinate units of the 44th aviation regiment, using MiG-31K interceptor fighters and strikes with the hypersonic missile system 9-S-7760 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal".

The aforementioned unlawful actions of the military commander, who acted in collusion with the military command of the Russian Federation, led to the destruction and damage of critical civilian infrastructure objects of the Unified Energy System of Ukraine, causing a crisis in the energy supply for the civilian population of Ukraine, which is extremely important for its survival.

Based on the collected evidence, the commander of the 44th separate aviation regiment of special purpose long-range aviation of the Russian Federation has been notified of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The pre-trial investigation in the specified criminal proceedings is being conducted by investigators of the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine.

The collection of evidence continues in order to identify other individuals, including among the military command of the Russian Federation, involved in the commission of the specified war crimes, and to hold them accountable.