Russian commander to stand trial for missile strike on Odesa Health Highway

The Odesa prosecutor's office has accused the commander of a Russian missile brigade of striking a civilian area of Odesa, killing eight people and injuring more than 20 others. The investigation found that he deliberately ordered the use of cluster missiles in a place without military objectives.

This was reported by the press service of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office sent an indictment to the court in a special proceeding against the commander of the 12th Missile Brigade of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation.

The brigade commander is accused of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder committed by a group of persons (part 2 of article 28, part 2 of article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, on April 29, 2024, the colonel, executing a combat order from the highest military and political leadership of the Russian Federation, ordered a missile attack on Odesa. The target of the attack was a popular recreational area on the Black Sea coast - the Health Route.

The attack was carried out by an Iskander-M tactical missile system with a cluster warhead. The launch took place from the area of Novoselivske in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

The attack killed 8 civilians, including a 4-year-old girl, and injured 23 others with varying degrees of severity. A number of civilian objects were also destroyed or damaged, including a rented building of a university.

According to the press service, the military command of the Russian Federation was aware of the civilian nature of the territory, the absence of any military or strategic facilities, and realized that the use of cluster weapons would lead to numerous civilian casualties. The pre-trial investigation was conducted by the SBU Office in Odesa region.

In July, the Prosecutor General's Office, at the request of the SBU, served Yevhen Lederer with a notice of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war for the missile attack on the Health Route in Odesa on April 29, 2024. The rocket explosion set fire to the famous student palace of the Odesa Law Academy, known as the "Harry Potter castle," where the vice-rector of the International Humanitarian University, Borys Vasyliev, was killed and former MP and president of the National Law University, Serhiy Kivalov, was injured.

Анна Бальчінос