Law enforcers identify Russian military who shot dead 10 civilian cars in Kyiv region
Investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea are investigating criminal proceedings on the fact of the execution of civilians on the Zhytomyr highway.
During the full-scale invasion, two battalion tactical groups from the 5th Separate Tank Brigade of the Russian Federation were among the first to enter the territory of Ukraine from Belarus. The occupiers moved in the direction of Kiev. On March 3, they went to the Zhytomyr highway. One battalion tactical group took a position in the village of Berezivka, the second - at a gas station, near the village of Mila.
“It was the 2nd battalion tactical group that committed the most shootings and killings on the Zhytomyr highway. Russian tanks positioned themselves behind the gas station, near it and in front of it, and thus blocked traffic in both directions. The next day, March 4, the invaders shot five cars. Then seven Ukrainians died, four more received gunshot wounds,” said the head of the investigative department of the GUNP in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city. Sevastopol Alexander Klimovsky.
The first to come under fire were two cars: in one there were spouses, who miraculously survived. In the second car was a family with a small child. They managed to drive much further under fire than the car that was driving in front, so the occupiers staged a real hunt and began to lead a dense fire on the car.
As a result, a two-year-old girl and her father received gunshot wounds, and her mother died. The seriously injured father in his arms with his daughter walked a long distance. They were taken to the nearest Ukrainian checkpoint by a driver who was passing nearby. There, the victims were provided with medical assistance.
On March 7, the occupiers fired on a column of 14-15 vehicles. The first three cars were under fire.
Footage of the shooting of the car, which was one of the first in the convoy, flew around the world. In the car was a family with a 7-year-old child, as well as their neighbor. The mother of the child died immediately as a result of the shelling. The father, trying to save his son, got out of the car with his arms raised. He was shot by the Russian military in front of the boy. The woman and the child were taken away by the invaders. They were sure that they were being shot, but at the last moment they were released.
During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the Russian military — from 4 to 25 March — shot 10 vehicles. As a result, 13 people died, six were injured.
“And we are only talking about those people who moved in cars. We already have evidence of the killing of civilians in nearby settlements, as well as those who tried to walk past their fighting positions.”
At the end of March, the occupiers under pressure from the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to retreat. In order to hide the killing of civilians, the invaders burned the cars and bodies of the people who remained there.
Currently, investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city. Sevastopol, employees of the Department for the Protection of Public and State Interests with the support of the operational services of the National Police and the procedural leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office established most of the personnel of the 5th Separate Tank Brigade of the 36th General Military Army of the Eastern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was also announced the suspicion of the commander of the 5OTBR battalion, who directed the shooting of a motorcade of civilians on the Zhytomyr highway.
“In addition, evidence of involvement in the executions of other servicemen of the Russian Federation has been collected. Operatives and investigators identified and created a photo database of 400 occupiers who actively participated in hostilities and committed war crimes in Kyiv region.”
Currently, police continue to identify witnesses and eyewitnesses to the war crime. So we ask those affected by the actions of the occupiers to contact: +38 (097) 968 67 44 and +38 (068) 698 36 63.
National Police of Ukraine
