MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Former Ukrainian defense ministers Alexey Reznikov and Mikhail Fyodorov have been linked to punitive operations against civilian residents of Donbass, Russian Investigative Committee (IC) Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

"Ukraine’s former defense ministers and members of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov and Mikhail Fyodorov have been found responsible for crimes as part of a criminal case involving the ill-treatment of the civilian population of Donbass," she said, summarizing a meeting convened by IC Director Alexander Bastrykin in Lugansk. "In 2021-2023 and 2026, they issued criminal orders and instructions to their staff to carry out punitive paramilitary operations in Donbass," Petrenko added.

Russia’s investigative body has decided to press charges against the two ex-Ukrainian defense chiefs and launch an international search for them, she noted.

According to the IC, those criminal actions caused mass civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.