For the eighth consecutive year, the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues. The enemy has temporarily occupied part of our state's territory and brazenly uses its state apparatus, armed forces, and specially created illegal armed formations for the constant escalation of the conflict.
 
During this time, more than four thousand Ukrainian servicemen and over three thousand civilians have died, and nearly twenty thousand people have been injured to varying degrees. Even during the "ceasefire" regime, we continue to suffer irreparable losses.

The years of war have brought us much suffering and pain. Terrible terrorist acts by militants against peaceful citizens come to mind: shelling of the cities of Mariupol and Kramatorsk, the attack on a passenger bus near the city of Volnovakha, the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight, and many others. However, one of the turning points of the war in Eastern Ukraine, when our Armed Forces lost the initiative in Donbas and shifted from offense to defense, was the battles near Ilovaisk in August 2014.

Each of us understands the unspeakable pain of losing loved ones and the emotional turmoil caused by their disappearance and captivity. We are proud of the courage of the heroes who, at the cost of their own lives, stopped the enemy and prevented Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and other cities of our native Ukraine from turning into ruins or occupied territories. And we have no right to forget the consequences of those tragic events and the merits of our defenders!

Therefore, as the Attorney General, I demand daily from my subordinates to make maximum efforts aimed at ensuring a swift, complete, and impartial investigation of crimes related to the armed conflict and aggression of the Russian Federation, of which more than thirty thousand have been registered since 2014.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the investigation of crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict, I held a joint meeting of law enforcement leaders in July of this year, as a result of which a decision was made to create specialized investigative units in the Main Investigative Departments of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine, as well as their regional units in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Regarding the battles in the area of the city of Ilovaisk, it should be noted that the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of Ukrainian servicemen does not stop for a single day.

To date, a notice of suspicion has been issued to the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the former head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who is currently the deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. They were directly in command and control of the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during their invasion of Ukraine in August 2014 and, together with other individuals, organized the treacherous murder of Ukrainian soldiers near the city of Ilovaisk.

In August 2021, two more Russian generals were given the status of suspects, namely the chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces – the first deputy commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the head of the Central Command Post of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who encroached on the territorial integrity and inviolability of our state and are also involved in the aforementioned treachery.

Fifteen militants of the "DPR" have been notified of suspicion for torturing Ukrainian servicemen captured during the battles in the area of the city of Ilovaisk, three of whom were notified this year.

At the same time, the materials regarding these horrific tragic events were transferred by the Office of the Attorney General to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for examination in April of this year, and we await its decision.

In addition to criminal prosecution of enemy commanders and servicemen, the circumstances of possible negligence by the command of the Anti-Terrorist Operation and sector leaders are also being investigated within this proceeding.

Due to the need to clarify detailed questions regarding the compliance of military officials' actions with regulatory documents during the planning and direct exit from the encirclement of the ATO forces and volunteer battalions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine, a judicial military examination has been appointed. Among the questions posed to the experts are those formulated by the victims.

In order to ensure a sufficient level of publicity and transparency of the investigation results of the Ilovaisk tragedy, we have initiated the declassification of materials from the criminal proceedings regarding the organization and conduct of hostilities in the area of the city of Ilovaisk. Considering that the resolution of these issues is beyond the competence of the prosecution and investigation authorities, the relevant requests for the declassification of documents have been sent by the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Anti-Terrorist Center, and the Department of Military Counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine for appropriate decisions.

At the same time, given the norms of legislation, this procedure is not quick and requires some time. Therefore, the declassified materials will be published in stages, adhering to the requirements of the law regarding state secrets and the secrecy of pre-trial investigations, specifically those documents that will allow society to assess the events of the hostilities that took place in August 2014.

Currently, we are working on improving the official website of the Office of the Attorney General, which has a separate section dedicated to the Ilovaisk events, where everyone can obtain information about the progress and results of the investigation, as well as familiarize themselves with the declassified materials. 

This is our first such experience, and we have taken this step so that society knows the truth! 

Also, in this section, every victim or witness of the Ilovaisk events will be able to find a contact phone number and email address of the prosecutors who are conducting the procedural leadership of the investigation.

History will never forget the Ilovaisk tragedy, the emotional wounds of which are unlikely to ever heal. Therefore, establishing the truth and holding accountable all those responsible for these horrific events is the necessary satisfaction without which trust in law enforcement agencies is impossible.
 

Attorney General
Irina Venediktova