09 August 2014, 03:53
Ukrainian MFA treats Ukrainian officers detained in Rostov Region as political prisoners
Ukraine treats kidnappings and unlawful detention of Ukrainian officers in the Russian Federation as "politically motivated", and therefore it has all the legal grounds to classify these citizens of Ukraine as political prisoners, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine declares in its statement posted on the MFA's website on August 8.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after more than 400 soldiers had crossed the Rostov section of the Russian-Ukrainian border on August 3 and 4 and found themselves in Russia, five of them were detained on suspicions of war crimes against the people of Donbas. On August 8, the court of the Rostov Region pronounced the decision to arrest all five detainees.
The Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) notes that the Ukrainian soldiers were arrested on suspicion of use of prohibited means and methods of warfare.
Since the detained Ukrainian soldiers got at their disposal the weapons similar to the types that can also be used for bombardment with so-called phosphorus bombs, investigators are checking the possible detainees' involvement in the use of these munitions banned under international law. Besides, the investigators are also checking their involvement in the shelling of the Russian territory, the ICRF states.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
