Russian Investigative Committee head orders recording, probing Ukrainian army's strikes in Donbas

MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin has issued a number of instructions to record and investigate new strikes mounted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the civilian population of Donbas, the Investigative Committee said on its website.

"Alexander Ivanovich Bastrykin has instructed investigators at the committee's central office to continue their work to record and back up evidence of new instances of injuries and deaths among civilians as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes. The chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee also underscored the need to thoroughly and comprehensively investigate the criminal activities of Ukrainian servicemen," it said.

According to media reports, two teenagers suffered fragmentation wounds when the Ukrainian army opened fire on the Kirovskiy district of Donetsk on March 2, the Investigative Committee said. They were hospitalized.

In a separate development, two civilians died and another two were injured when the Ukrainian Armed Forces delivered a strike on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic on March 2, using 120mm mortars, infantry fighting vehicle weapons and grenade launchers. According to media reports, a school, two kindergartens and a sports center came under fire in the town of Makiivka, which is adjacent to Donetsk. Furthermore, a civilian was injured in the Ukrainian army's strikes on Dokuchayevsk, the Investigative Committee said.

Russian investigators have also been told to record instances of mercenaries' involvement in crimes in Ukrainian territory.

"Bastrykin instructed investigators at the committee's central office to establish the identity and citizenship of mercenaries arriving on the territory of Ukraine and to record and investigate instances of their involvement in criminal activities with the aim of prosecuting them under Article 359 of the Russian Criminal Code (mercenary activity), which carries up to 15 years in prison," it said.

According to information from open sources, foreign mercenaries are arriving in Ukraine to support the Ukrainian army, it said.

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