Captured in the Kursk oblast Ukrainian servicemen are being charged with criminal offenses, according to a report from the russian Investigative Committee.
It is noted that criminal cases have been initiated against Vitalii Panchenko and Ivan Dmytrakov, soldiers of the 61st Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, under articles of the russian Criminal Code.
The "investigation" claims that on August 7 of this year, Panchenko and Dmytrakov, "acting as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, armed with automatic firearms and large-caliber guns, using explosive devices and military equipment, illegally crossed the State border of the russian Federation".
They allegedly "repeatedly opened fire to kill, both on russian military personnel and on civilians", according to the russian Investigative Committee's statement.
The capture of russian soldiers is also presented as a criminal offense: "Panchenko, acting together with other Ukrainian servicemen, used physical force and threatened with weapons to place three russian citizens against their will into the back of a truck, after which they were taken to Ukrainian territory".
As reported, on February 22, 2022, a large occupying force of the russian Armed Forces illegally crossed the border with Ukraine. For more than 2.5 years, russian forces have been bombarding Ukraine with all kinds of weapons, wiping cities and villages off the face of the earth and killing civilians. Despite all this, captured russian soldiers are recognized as prisoners of war, not as criminals.