Law enforcement officers reported the suspicion in absentia to Russian military commanders, whom the investigation considers to be involved in the missile strikes on the “Okhmatdyt” childrenʼs hospital in Kyiv and the hotel complex in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
As investigators found out, these are Major General Mykola Varpakhovych and Colonel Oleksandr Lutovinov.
On July 8, 2024, Varpakhovych ordered a strike on “Okhmatdyt” in Kyiv. Units under his command attacked the medical facility with a Kh-101 cruise missile launched from a Russian Tu-95MS bomber. Two people were killed and dozens more were injured.
The missile completely destroyed the toxicology building and damaged four other buildings where surgical operations were performed and children with cancer were treated.
Lutovinov, commander of the 49th Missile Brigade of the Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, led the strike on the “Sapphire” hotel complex in Kramatorsk on August 24, 2024. Then the security advisor of the international news agency Reuters was killed, and five more of his colleagues were injured to varying degrees.
As the investigation found out, the decision to strike was made by the Chief of Staff of the Russian Joint Forces Group, Colonel General Alexei Kim. He is already under suspicion in absentia from the SBU in this case. With his approval, Lutovinov gave the order to strike Kramatorsk with an Iskander-M ballistic missile from the territory of the Rostov region.
Varpakhovych and Lutovinov were informed in absentia of suspicion under the article about war crimes that led to the deaths of people.
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