Russia charges top Ukrainian military officials with ‘Terrorism'

MOSCOW, Russia

Russia’s Investigative Committee said Tuesday it would press charges against four senior Ukrainian military officials over drone strikes on Russian territory.

Moscow leveled the terrorism charges against Kyiv's intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk, navy commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa and Serhiy Burdenyuk, commander of the 383rd unmanned aviation brigade.

“It has also been established that the defendants involved their subordinate servicemen in committing the crimes,” Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement.

It added that the investigation had gathered “sufficient evidence” to implicate the four Ukrainian officials in more than 100 drone strikes on the Russian capital, annexed Crimea and regions bordering Ukraine, all of which were carried out between April 2022 and September 2023.

Independent tallies have said that at least 100 civilians have died in drone strikes on Russia’s Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and other regions.

The Investigative Committee said it planned to put Budanov, Oleshchuk, Neizhpapa and Burdenyuk on its wanted list.