The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine has declared suspicion to the Russian general who, holding a senior position at the so-called DPR (self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic) in eastern Ukraine, issued an order to attack the town of Avdiyivka in February this year.

"A suspicion of committing gravest crimes provided by Parts 2 and 3 of Article 258, Part 2 of Article 437, Part 2 of Article 28, and Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was declared to one of the officials of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, General of the Russian Army. He is charged with committing a terrorist act, which led to the death of people, the carrying out of an aggressive war, violation of the laws and customs of war, connected with the deliberate killing of people," the PGO said on Thursday, adding that the maximum sentence of life imprisonment is provided for committing the said crimes.

Thus, during the pretrial investigation, it was established that the said general, while serving as the head of the defense ministry of the terrorist organization DPR, issued an order on artillery shelling of Avdiyivka in Donetsk region on February 1, 2017. As a result of the attack, two Ukrainian soldiers and one civilian were killed, while 12 Ukrainian troops and three civilians were wounded. Also, as a result of bombardment 56 objects of the civil infrastructure of the city were damaged or destroyed.