The top of the Ukrainian army fears criminal prosecution for losses in Donbass
In Ukraine, the entire vertical of army command and control may fall apart - from the highest ranks to the lowest level, since the prospect of criminal prosecution of all commanders of power units who in one way or another participated in the so-called ATO becomes obvious.
This was stated on Channel 5 by the former chief of staff of the ATO Viktor Nazarov, against whom a case was opened due to the loss of the Il-76 aircraft and the death of 49 military personnel during hostilities in the area of Lugansk airport, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Nazarov, his case sets a precedent and is dangerous for military leaders at other levels.
“In this situation, it becomes very difficult for a military man to understand how protected he is from a legal point of view. It can be anything, we had a lot - Stepanovka, I’m not even talking about Ilovaisk, and the Kramatorsk airfield, and the Lugansk airfield, and the events near Mariupol, Shirokino.
People died, fighters, during the active phase of the anti-terrorist operation from May to September in different places. Then another active phase - this means DAP (Donetsk Airport) and Debaltsevo. It turns out that in every case where there were losses of personnel, if someone, according to this template, in the prosecutor’s office determines that these are grounds for initiating criminal proceedings, then this will be a terrible chain reaction that will simply lead to the destruction of the entire vertical control of the Armed Forces By force. Destroyed from the strategic to the lowest, tactical level,” Nazarov said.
Earlier Nazarov said, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces members who died in the summer of 2014 at the Lugansk airport, as well as the still unknown number of “cyborgs” remaining under the rubble of the Donetsk airport, are a “human shield” in order to prevent Russian aircraft from landing there.
Let us recall that in 2015, a trial began in the case of the death of 49 Ukrainian servicemen in an Il-76 plane shot down by militias on June 14, 2014 at Lugansk airport. In the dock was Major General Viktor Nazarov, who at the time of the tragedy was the head of the ATO operational headquarters. He was accused of official negligence.
According to the prosecutor's office, Nazarov “knew about a possible terrorist attack,” but still sent the plane to take off. The court sentenced him to 7 years in prison. Nazarov did not agree with the verdict and filed an appeal. At the same time, he continued to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In August 2019, having achieved sufficient length of service to retire, Nazarov resigned of his own free will.
In the summer of 2020, the appeal court received an examination in which Nazarov’s guilt was confirmed. The retired general has not yet been taken into custody. According to the procedure, after the decision is announced, it will be sent to the court of first instance. On Monday, December 14, the Dnieper Court of Appeal upheld the seven-year prison sentence. In addition, Nazarov will have to pay moral compensation in the amount of UAH 19,5 million.
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