The Investigative Unit of the SBU Department in Chernihiv region, with the approval of the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, issued a Notice of Suspicion for the violation of laws and customs of war against Colonel of the Russian Army Oleg Kurygin, the commander of the 35th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade and his subordinates Captain Suleymanov Timur and Major Zagretdinov Ramis. These alleged perpetrators were commanders of the 1st and 2nd Battalion Tactical Groups of the 35th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation. The text of the Notices of Suspicion is available on the website of the Prosecutor General’s Office [Kurygin, Suleymanov, Zagretdinov].
The Notice of Suspicion was based on an attack on a food store queue that was committed in March 2022 in Chernihiv. At this time, the Russian Federation Armed Forces had almost entirely encircled the city, making the evacuation of civilians difficult or even impossible. Residents faced shortages of food and other necessities.
The Notice of Suspicion states that Kurygin gave a combat order to Zagretdinov and Suleymanov to attack civilian objects and civilians near the food store in Chernihiv. On 16 March 2022, under the commander’s order, GRAD multiple rocket launchers fired at civilians queuing outside a store, resulting in 20 civilian deaths and 28 injured. According to the provisions of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, deliberate attacks on the civilian population constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law and thus a war crime.
GRC’s Mobile Justice Team (MJT) provided legal advice and recommendations on necessary investigative actions to ensure a comprehensive investigation of this criminal case. GRC continues to support Ukrainian authorities in investigating and prosecuting war crimes and other international crimes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
MJTs form part of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) — a multilateral initiative established by the United Kingdom, European Union, and the United States to support and assist Ukrainian prosecutors and law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed during the full-scale war.