Tuesday, 27 June ‘23

Commander Behind Critical Infrastructure Attacks Identified

Investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the suspicion in absentia against Colonel Nikolay Varpahovych, who leads the 22nd heavy bombardment aviation division of the Russian Air Force. He is accused of ordering multiple missile strikes against Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure. 

The investigation found that, between October 2022 and February 2023, units of his division launched high-precision guided cruise missiles Kh-22, Kh-101/102 and X-555 against 35 energy facilities and five civil infrastructure. The attacks, which violated norms of international humanitarian law, killed 61 civilians, injured 143 and destroyed or severely damaged power stations and residential buildings.

Varpahovych is accused of violating the laws and customs of war in combination with intentional murder and with a prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 438 of the criminal code), waging an aggressive war with a prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 437 of the criminal code) and encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which led to the death of people and other serious consequences (Part 3 of Article 110 of the criminal code).

Russian Propagandist and Six Associates Reported in Absentia

The SBU reported the suspicion in absentia against Aleksandr Malkevich, a Russian propagandist, of collaborative activity (Part 6 of Article 111-1 of the criminal code). Malkevich is considered to be part of the inner circle of Yevgeny Prigozhin, founding director of the Wagner private military company.

Malkevich took over audiovisual propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine in July 2022. He launched the TV station Tavriya in the occupied Kherson region, in the seized premises of Ukraine’s Public Broadcasting Company. The channel has been used to disseminate disinformation and to support the pseudo-referendum organised in late September to annex three occupied regions, including Kherson, to the Russian Federation. 

Ismail Abdulayev, a propagandist of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and former head of the pro-Kremlin TV channel Oplot in the occupied city of Donetsk, was appointed as head of the channel. When Ukraine’s armed forces regained control of Kherson city in November 2022, the TV station’s staff moved to the left bank of the Dnipro river, where the channel continues to operate. Malkevich is believed to be in Ukraine’s occupied southern regions. 

Marksman who Brutalised Civilians in Kherson Identified

Police investigators issued a suspicion in absentia against Viktor Haynulin, a Ukrainian national from the eastern region of Donetsk who serves as marksman in the 1st army corps of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). 

He is accused of violation of the laws and customs of war for the brutal the treatment of civilians by a prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code), treason under martial law (Part 2 of Article 111 of the criminal code), and participation in the activities of armed groups not provided for by law (Part 2 of Article 260 of the criminal code).

According to the investigation, in March 2022 Haynulin was near the village of Tomarine in Kherson region, where he performed filtering duties at a checkpoint. Together with his accomplices, he illegally detained civilians at a pumping station and subjected them to interrogation and physical violence. They sought to obtain information about their affiliation with law enforcement agencies and anti-occupation groups and persuade them to cooperate with representatives of the Russian Federation.