Prosecutor’s Office Finishes Investigation of ‘Ilovaisk Tragedy’

Investigation of ‘Ilovaisk tragedy’ that lasted almost a year has been completed, First Deputy of the Prosecutor General Dmytro Storozhuk said during the meeting with the families of fighters who died in Ilovaisk, Prosecutor General’s Office press service reports.

The main topic of conversation were the results of the investigation of the events and causes of the Ilovaisk tragedy. Storozhuk said that the investigation, which lasted almost a year and has now been completed, involved 31 experts from the Ministry of Defense, Security Service of Ukraine Anti-Terrorist Center, Ukrainian National Guard, and State Border Guard Service.

"We have the expert evaluation, and this allows us to get the case ready to be sent to court," the statement says.

The Ilovaisk tragedy happened in 2014, when Ukrainian forces were encircled on the eve of Independence Day. According to the preliminary investigation results, the losses on the Ukrainian side totaled 366 killed, 429 wounded, 128 captured, and 158 missing in action.

Military prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said that the main reason for the Ilovaisk tragedy was the invasion by over 3,500 Russian soldiers of Ukrainian territory without declaration of war.

According to the preliminary report of the temporary investigative commission, the tragedy was aggravated by mistakes in the appointment of senior defense officials, inadequate prior actions of the Minister of Defense Valeriy Heletey and Head of Staff Viktor Muzhenko, and the fact that the president did not introduce martial law.

The Ministry of Defense blames bad coordination between the Army and volunteer fighter units.

Source: Ukrayinska Pravda