The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and prosecutors have issued a notice of suspicion in absentia to Russian Colonel General Sergei Kuzovlyov, whom investigators believe was involved in organising the shelling of residential neighbourhoods in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, in February 2023.
This was reported by the SBU press service.
According to the SBU, the Russian general planned and ordered attacks on the city’s civilian infrastructure using Smerch and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems.
As a result of one such strike, three civilians were killed and another 11 people sustained injuries of varying severity.
For the attack, Kuzovlyov deployed units of Russia’s 439th Rocket Artillery Brigade. Russian forces shelled residential buildings from firing positions in temporarily occupied Makiivka.
At the time of the shelling, the general served as commander of Russia’s Southern Military District. He is currently commander of the Moscow Military District.
Based on the evidence gathered, the SBU has issued him a notice of suspicion in absentia under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder.
As the suspect is on Russian territory, law enforcement agencies are continuing measures to bring him to justice.
The SBU also recalled that it had previously issued a notice of suspicion in absentia to a Russian serviceman over organising an Iskander missile strike on a café in Kramatorsk in June 2023.
The investigation was conducted by officers of the SBU’s Main Directorate in Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the procedural supervision of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.