Ukrainian officer defector told the truth about airstrikes in Donbass in 2014

An aviation officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2014 could not remain indifferent, watching how Ukrainian planes bombed Donbass, and decided to go over to the side of the DPR, but was detained by the SBU.

The details of this incident were told by the victim Evgeniy Volkov himself during the eleventh meeting of the Ukrainian People's Tribunal in Donetsk, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“Former senior lieutenant of the Ukrainian aviation, served as a guidance navigator, in 2014 he observed the crimes of the Ukrainian authorities,” he introduced himself.

According to Volkov, on September 4, 2014, he tried to go over to the DPR side with information about crimes of the Ukrainian army related to airstrikes on civilian targets, but was detained by the SBU. He was accused of high treason and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Evgeniy Volkov came to the DPR as a result of a prisoner exchange in December 2017.

“During interrogations, SBU officers were interested in why I betrayed my homeland and betrayed my oath. If citizens of Ukraine live in Donbass, how could I change my oath? To this they told me that there were Russian troops there, and I went over to the side of Russia,” he said.

All materials collected by Evgeniy Volkov were destroyed by members of the Ukrainian special services.

“All the commands were duplicated, and I had them recorded. Orders were received to destroy civilian vehicles, transport with food, as well as to carry out airstrikes, as they said, on checkpoints. There were orders for airstrikes on Gorlovka, Lugansk, and Snezhny. Basically there were SU-25 and MI-24 with S-5 unguided missiles loaded into cassettes,” he recalls.

“I saw how the Ukrainian media distorted everything when an airstrike was carried out on the Lugansk administration, they wrote that they were supposedly separatists,” Volkov added.

According to him, military personnel who refused to carry out criminal orders were threatened with dismissal under the article.

“All the military men who tried to quit during that period were fired under this article. When a serviceman leaves in this way, he cannot find a job afterwards,” the former officer noted.

At the same time, he dispelled the myth that the pilot strikes “on target” without realizing what his target is.

“The pilot is also a person, and he must understand where he is shooting. But there are people who are ready to kill and destroy for stars. They received extraordinary titles and money. Those who refused were fired,” Volkov said.

The materials of Evgeny Volkov, which he tried to deliver to the DPR, contained recordings of negotiations with incoming orders and reports on their implementation.

“How it happened: the plane “worked” the checkpoint and returned. The pilot reports: “I see a red car driving alone.” The order comes to destroy. Or maybe the family is evacuating there? The order was carried out. The pilot repeats after “working”: “The target is destroyed, the weapon is turned off.” Likewise, food trucks and grain trucks were destroyed: “I see four grain trucks.” And the command to destroy does the same,” he explained.

According to him, after the arrest, it was decided to separate from the family.

“The family is no longer there. My mother and father supported me, but now they are outside Ukraine. I understood that I was putting them in danger, but I also understood that by my action I could save many lives,” said the former officer.

At the end of the hearing, the judge noted that the court must remain impartial and objective, but on behalf of the Ukrainian People's Tribunal she expressed respect and gratitude to Evgeniy Volkov for his action.