Ukraine war latest: 'Murders for the sake of Russian propaganda' — Ukraine identifies 13 collaborators accused of war crimes in Izium
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Key developments on March 13:
- 'Murders for the sake of Russian propaganda' — Ukraine identifies 13 collaborators accused of war crimes in Izium
- Bus driver killed in Russian drone strike in Kharkiv Oblast
- At least 3 killed, 27 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past day
- Explosions reported at Russian airfields in occupied Crimea, Krasnodar Krai
The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office has identified 13 pro-Russian collaborators accused of war crimes in Izium in 2022, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported on March 13.
"They thought the occupation would hide their faces, but they were wrong," Kravchenko wrote in a Telegram post.
Izium, a town in Kharkiv Oblast with a pre-invasion population of 45,000, lies in the southeastern part of Kharkiv Oblast, over 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the regional center, Kharkiv.
Izium was occupied by Russian troops from April 1 until September 10, 2022. After the liberation, a total of 447 bodies were exhumed from Izium's mass burial site, the State Emergency Service reported on Sept. 25, 2022. All but 22 bodies belonged to civilians.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synyehubov said at the time that most bodies contained "signs of violent death," and 30 of them had traces of torture.
According to Kravchenko's report, the collaborators — 11 soldiers within Russia's 2nd Army Corps, a deputy of the Russian-controlled so-called Luhansk People's Republic, the head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic's "Union of Cinematographers" — defected to Russia following the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in 2014.
During the occupation of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, the collaborators looted and tortured local residents, while some were held in metal containers without food or water, Kravchenko said. He added that collaborators used beatings and threats to extract information about Ukraine's war veterans and military personnel.
The collaborators recorded footage of their atrocities to make propaganda videos. For such videos, they received promotions and rewards, including from Russia's top officials, the report says. Among the victims of such a video was a 46-year-old man, assistant to a deputy at Izyum City Council.
"The man was brutally beaten and shot in the face, and his body was dumped near a railroad crossing," Kravchenko said. "(These were) Murders for the sake of Russian propaganda."
Under the procedural supervision of the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office, all 13 men have been notified that they are suspected of treason and violations of the laws and customs of war.
Bus driver killed in Russian drone strike in Kharkiv Oblast
Russian forces flew a strike drone into a civilian bus in Kharkiv Oblast, killing the driver and injuring four passengers, local authorities and Ukraine's National Police reported on March 13.
The bus was struck with a Lancet drone at 9:15 a.m. local time on a road near the village of Nova Oleksandrivka, head of the Kupyansk District Military Administration, Andriy Kanashevych, reported.
Ukraine's National Police wrote on Telegram that the person killed was the 53-year-old driver. It added that 15 passengers were on the bus at the moment of the attack.
The bus traveled a route connecting the regional capital of Kharkiv with settlements closer to the frontline, with the final destination being 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the active combat zone.
Russian forces have increasingly used drones to target civilians in close proximity to front-line areas.
On March 11, Russian Forces struck a civilian bus in Kherson Oblast, injuring 11 people.
At least 3 killed, 27 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past day
At least three people were killed and 27 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on March 13.
Russian troops launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 126 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which about 80 were Shahed-type drones, the Air Force reported, adding it downed 117 drones.
In eastern Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day killed at least two people and injured six others, regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported on March 13.
In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, three people were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day in a village near the Russian border, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
In northeastern Sumy Oblast, a Russian drone attack killed a 32-year-old man and wounded a 45-year-old man over the past day, the regional military administration reported.
In northern Chernihiv Oblast, a Russian first-person view (FPV) drone attack on a civilian vehicle wounded a 52-year-old man, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus reported.
In central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two people, including a 59-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man, were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported. He said that Russian forces attacked five districts of the region with artillery, drones, guided aerial bombs (KABs), and a missile over the past day.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia and its surrounding oblast, three people were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
In southern Kherson Oblast, 11 people were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
In southern Odesa Oblast, Russian drones attacked a port infrastructure site overnight, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported. He reported no casualties.
Explosions reported at Russian airfields in occupied Crimea, Krasnodar Krai
Explosions rang out at Russian airfields in an apparent Ukrainian attack on Russian military targets in the Black Sea region overnight on March 13, Russian Telegram channels reported.
Several explosions rocked the Khanskaya military airfield near the southern Russian city of Maykop in Krasnodar Krai in the early hours of March 13, the Supernova Telegram news channel reported.
Videos posted to social media appear to show fireballs light up the night sky as air defense systems reportedly operated over the region.
Shortly thereafter explosions were heard near Russia's Belbek military airfield and separately at the nearby Kacha airbase in occupied Crimea between 5-5:30 a.m. local time, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported.
No information was immediately available on the apparent targets or the extent of damage caused.
The claims cannot be independently verified, and Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported attacks.
Kyiv regularly strikes Russian military targets in an effort to diminish Moscow's fighting power as it continues to wage its war against Ukraine.
All three Russian military installations have been subject to previous attacks given their proximity to Ukrainian-held territory, with Kyiv regularly targeting ammunition depots and fuel holding tanks on the premises.
The Khanskaya military airfield is located on Russian territory approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) from Ukraine and about 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, while the Kacha and Belbek facilities are located near the city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
Earlier in the day, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian forces struck infrastructure at the Tikhoretsk oil pumping station in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, one of the largest oil logistics hubs in southern Russia.
Note from the author:
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