Photo: Natalia Gubernatorova
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine explained why it does not make claims to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the case of the Ilovaisk tragedy. Putin has functional immunity, and Russia’s counterclaim to the International Court of Justice will not be in favor The head of the Department for supervision of criminal proceedings in relation to crimes committed in the conditions of armed conflict, the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Rud, said.
“As of today, the mentioned person (Putin-Ed.) has not been brought to criminal responsibility by the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, because, firstly, there is a so-called functional immunity. We are talking about international law, ” Rud said in response to a question why Putin is not on the list of persons who were declared suspicious in the case of the tragedy near Ilovaisk.
Rud said that Ukraine respects international law, which defines functional immunity for top officials of states.
“They cannot be brought to criminal responsibility for the duration of their powers,” he said.
Recall that in August 2014, Ukrainian battalions were surrounded in the Donetsk region near Ilovaisk. They suffered serious losses, a criminal case was initiated under the article “Negligent attitude to military service, which entailed serious consequences in the conditions of hostilities”. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 366 soldiers were killed, 429 were wounded, 300 were captured.