This morning, the Russian occupiers committed another war crime – they hit a bus with civilians near Kharkiv with a drone. Six civilians were injured, five in moderate condition and one in serious condition. All the victims were civilian construction workers.
This is no accident. The division, whose first deputy commander is a war criminal, Colonel Ivan Shits, is now based in the Belgorod region and has been spotted in the Kharkiv sector. This division is part of the “North” group of troops.
The 239th Tank Regiment under colonel Shits’ command was repeatedly identified in the rapes of civilians in the Kyiv region in the spring of ’22.
Only one of the soldiers who committed the rapes in the village of Bohdanivka, Kyiv region, has been accurately identified so far. This is Sergeant Mikhail Romanov, who was identified by the victim’s testimony. He has been on trial in Ukraine since 2023: he is accused of killing a local resident and raping his wife.
Such war crimes are to the liking of the Russian leadership: twenty-four servicemen of the 239th Regiment were awarded various state and departmental awards. Moreover, on June 15, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding the 239th Regiment the Order of Zhukov “For massive heroism and bravery, fortitude and courage shown by the regiment’s personnel in combat operations to protect state interests”.
And Colonel Shits Ivan himself was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation “for courage and heroism” by President Putin personally.
As mentioned recently, war criminals in the Russian Federation regularly receive only new military ranks and higher positions. But at least they should have received an investigation by an international court and life sentences.
