Head of Investigative Committee of Russia claims 3,000 civilian victims in Mariupol, accuses Ukraine's military

The Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR) has stated that after Mariupol was taken under the control of the Russian Federation, over 3,000 bodies of dead civilians had been found in the city; the Russians accuse representatives of the Ukrainian military command of these atrocities.

Source: statement of the SKR on 30 December

Details: Alexander Bastrykin, the Head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, has held an operational meeting of the "headquarters for the investigation of crimes" in Mariupol, attributed by the Russian Federation to the Ukrainian military, ignoring the fact that it was Russia that started the war and the destruction of cities.

The Russians claim that officers of the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, which included the Azov Regiment, were responsible for the distribution of defence forces and resources in Mariupol and that the agreed action plan provided for the division of the city into sectors with individual areas of responsibility (A, B, C and D).

The SKR claims that Russian troops organised humanitarian corridors through sector A, and the fighters of the National Guard of Ukraine "artificially created obstacles to the evacuation of civilians from the city", subsequently making civilians "a living target".

Quote from the SKR: "The bodies of 51 civilians were found in the positions left by Ukrainian troops in April 2022 alone, and after the complete liberation and inspection of the city, their number was over 3,000 (...).

The damage caused by their illegal actions, which were expressed in the deliberate use of the city and its civilian infrastructure for military purposes, amounted to over 176 billion roubles [roughly US$1,294,117,000 – ed.]."

Details: The SKR opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Art. 356.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against:

• Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, the Commander of the Joint Forces Operation;
• Lieutenant General Yurii Sodolia, the Commander of the operational-tactical group Skhid (East);
•  Lieutenant General Yurii Lebid, the Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine;
• Colonel Denys Shlega, the Commander of the 12th Operational Brigade of the Eastern Territorial Unit of the National Guard of Ukraine;
• Major Denys Prokopenko, the Commander of the Separate Detachment of Azov Special Forces, which is part of the 12th Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine;
• other officials of the National Guard of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other Ukrainian military formations.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation also claims to have received new information from the prisoners of war regarding the participation of foreign mercenaries in the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Allegedly, there were British citizens who trained Ukrainians for "urban warfare" in the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, while instructors from Germany taught "storming buildings and firing from foreign-made weapons".

SKR claimed that an expert group has been created with its deployment in Luhansk, and it is planned to create a similar group in Melitopol. It was also proposed to create a local DNA database of the deceased in Mariupol.

According to the Investigative Committee, experts inspected over 68,000 residential premises and infrastructure in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and estimated the damage to be at least 228 billion and 234 million roubles, respectively. [roughly US$1,678,191,176 – ed.].

Background: Mariupol had been under blockade since the beginning of the full-scale war: the Russian forces encircled the city and, having disrupted the evacuation of Mariupol residents, actually took them hostage. The Russian army let few people into the territory controlled by Ukraine, forced residents to leave for the occupied or Russian territory, and conducted "filtration measures".

The Mariupol defenders, having not received reinforcements, eventually concentrated in the bunkers of the Azovstal plant. They could not get any food, water, medicine, or ammunition, and the Russians continued to attack them.

Mariupol defenders came to the Russian-controlled territory on 16-20 May and were captured. According to the Russian side, 2,439 fighters came out of the Azovstal bunkers, while the Ukrainian side reported that 2,449 people did. Some of them were later exchanged as prisoners of war.

It is unknown how many people died in Mariupol. Legitimate authorities estimated the loss of at least 10,000 or 20,000 residents. Almost all houses in the city were either damaged or destroyed.

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