The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) has approved notices of suspicion to two persons from the LPR terrorist organization for shelling the civilian population in the town of Popasna and the Popasna district of Luhansk region in 2015.

"The department for investigating crimes committed in the temporarily occupied territories of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, during the pretrial investigation of criminal proceedings due to the violation by the Russian Armed Forces, as well as representatives of the LPR terrorist organization controlled by them, of the laws and customs of war, approved notices of suspicion to two people, one of whom is a native of the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation, in committing particularly serious crimes foreseen by Parts 2, 3 of Article 258, Part 2 of Article 437, Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the PGO's media liaisons office said in a statement on Tuesday.

It was established that these persons acted as heads of artillery units in the "sixth separate motor rifle Cossack regiment named after M. Platov," which is part of an illegal armed formation in the structure of the LPR terrorist organization.

It was established during the pretrial investigation that these persons were charged with carrying out armed resistance to the ATO forces, an artillery attack on civilians in the town of Popasna and the Popasna district of Luhansk region.

"Realizing their criminal intentions, by preliminary collusion with other persons, including the leaders of the LPR terrorist organization, representatives of the authorities of the Russian Federation and the Russian Armed Forces, these citizens, in order to intimidate the civilian population, using heavy artillery weapons, ammunition, in January-August 2015, knowing for sure that in Popasna and the Popasna district there are no servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other military formations of Ukraine involved in conducting the anti-terrorist operation, and there are only civilians and civil infrastructure facilities, instructed members of artillery units subordinate to them to conduct artillery shelling, using explosive weapons in the territory of Popasna and Popasna district, creating a danger to life and health of people, which led to the death of people, damage and destruction of houses, civil infrastructure facilities," the PGO said.

As a result of these criminal acts by these citizens and their accomplices, 11 civilians were killed, nine more injured, 41 houses and other infrastructure facilities were damaged and destroyed.

The Prosecutor General's Office said that these crimes involve the maximum term of punishment in the form of life imprisonment.