Tuesday, 5 December ‘23
This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.
Also see
Integrating OSINT into Justice Processes
A Bellingcat initiative explores the admissibility and weight of open source evidence in the prosecution of war crimes.
A Body in the Forest
Court hears evidence of the circumstances surrounding the death of a 32-year-old Ukrainian man who went missing in the Bucha district.
Tuesday, 5 December ‘23
This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.
Hunger as a Weapon of War
Ukrainian law enforcement officers are investigating 220 cases concerning attacks on agricultural infrastructure facilities and their capture, said prosecutor general of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, accusing Russia of "using hunger as a weapon of war".
The largest number of cases are in the Mykolaiv region, followed by Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia.
Among the 35 people notified of suspicions against them for contributing to the seizure and export of Ukrainian grain are leaders of the occupation administrations, the so-called mayors of Berdyansk and Energodar in the Zaporizhia region, representatives of the Russian special services and large agro-industrial companies of the Russian Federation.
Suspicion Issued Against Two Russian Generals
Investigators of the Cherkasy Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) reported in absentia the suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder (Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 438 of the criminal code) to Russian Lieutenant General Serhii Kobylash. The 58-year-old is the commander of long-range aviation of the Air Force of the Russian Federation.
Investigators believe that he gave the order to launch rocket attacks on a residential high-rise building and a parking lot in Uman, Cherkasy region, on April 28 of this year in which 23 local residents died, including six children. One person is still considered missing. According to the investigation, the airstrike was carried out by two Kh-101 missiles from the Russian TU-95MS heavy bomber. Kobylash is a native of Odesa, and has Russian citizenship.
The SSU investigators also reported in absentia the suspicion of giving an order to violate the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the criminal code) to 61-year-old Russian Lieutenant General Yevgeny Poplavsky, the deputy commander of the Central Military District of Russia. The investigation believes that after the capture of Lyman in Donetsk region in April 2022, Poplavsky ordered a crackdown against local members of the resistance movement.
According to the SBU, the suspect personally participated in punitive actions and torture of civilians. Poplavsky is a native of Donetsk and has Russian citizenship.
Shooting of Civilians in Bucha: Russian Commander Identified
SSU investigators in the Kyiv region reported in absentia the suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder (part 2 of article 438 of the Criminal Code) to 37-year-old lieutenant colonel Oleksandr Dosyagaev from Pskov. He is the commander of the 2nd battalion of the 104th regiment of the 76th airborne assault division of the airborne troops of the Russian Federation.
In early March 2022, the suspect led the paratroopers who captured Bucha. The investigation believes that Dosyagaev gave the order to shoot four civilians, a local resident and three volunteers who were passing by in a car. All died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds.
The SSU is now checking information about the possible death of Dosyagaev in the war in Ukraine.
