Ukrainian law enforcement officers have served Deputy Defense Minister of Russia, Head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces Andrey Kartapolov with charges of encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, conducting an aggressive war and violating the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.

"According to the investigation, the Colonel General in January and February 2015, while holding the post of Chief of the Main Operations Directorate, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, by prior conspiracy with other persons from among the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces, in order to violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine, carried out planning and coordination of the actions of units of the Armed Forces of the aggressor state and the irregular illegal armed formations under their control to seize the city of Debaltseve and adjacent settlements," the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) press service said on Thursday.

At the same time, the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) indicates the name of the colonel general Andrey Kartapolov.

Law enforcement officers also said that in August 2014, Kartapolov, along with other representatives of the Russian Armed Forces command, provided planning and control of Russian units during the invasion of Ukraine.

He also participated in organizing the treacherous murder of Ukrainian servicemen near the town of Ilovaisk during their exit from the so-called green corridor under the "guarantees" provided by the Russian leadership, and also ensured the further armed occupation of other settlements of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

For the commission of the incriminated crimes, the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for the maximum punishment in the form of life imprisonment.