The Chernihiv regional court is set to review charges against the former commander of Russia’s Central Military District, Colonel General Alexander Lapin, in his absence. The court’s official site confirms the proceeding, a report carried by TASS notes.
Officials indicated the hearing was scheduled to begin on March 24 at 09:30 local time, which corresponds to 10:30 Moscow time.
Back on June 30, 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine filed charges accusing Oleksandr Lapin of violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity while not presenting himself in court.
At the time, 47-year-old Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev was in place as the regional commander, having succeeded Lapin in the role. The two generals led the district’s forces during the military operation in Ukraine that was launched under the banners of a special military operation.
On February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would undertake a special operation to safeguard the Donbass region, asserting it was in response to requests for assistance from the heads of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic.
The move to launch the operation had broader geopolitical repercussions, contributing to the imposition of new sanctions by the United States and allied nations, a topic of ongoing discussion in Western capitals and among observers in Canada and the United States alike.
Coverage of the situation is being broadcast by various outlets, including online news portals, as observers assess the implications for international law, military conduct, and ongoing sanctions regimes.