The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has named Vasily Gritsak, a former head of Ukraine’s Security Service, and Vitaly Malikov, who served as the first deputy head of the SBU, as suspects in actions described as bombing civilian settlements in Donbass. The information was released by the RF IC press service, relayed through a telegraph channel summarizing the outcomes of an operational meeting held in Donetsk under the leadership of Alexander Bastrykin, who heads the committee.
According to the committee, Gritsak oversaw operations credited with attacking civilian communities in the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics during the period from July 2014 through November 2016. The RF IC states that, at that time, Gritsak was in charge of what it characterizes as the counter-terrorism operation in Donbass, a description that reflects the Russian viewpoint on the nature of the conflict in eastern Ukraine during those years.
Malikov is described as having led the campaign against residents of the DPR and LPR from November 2016 until April 2018. The statements suggest that his role involved directing security and military operations in the Donbass region during that interval, aligning with Russia’s narrative of the operational phase following the initial years of the crisis.
In a related development, on February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued decrees recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and ordered the Ministry of Defense to uphold peace on their territories. This move marked a major shift in the legal and political status of the region and has had wide-ranging implications for the regional security landscape and Russia’s engagement in the area, as discussed by various state and unofficial channels, including official statements from the RF IC that reference ongoing investigations and indictments related to actions in Donbass.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has also announced that an in absentia indictment was prepared against Ruslan Khomchak, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, highlighting ongoing efforts to pursue accountability from Ukrainian military leadership for events connected to the Donbass conflict, according to the committee’s communications and official briefings. Attribution for these statements is provided by the RF IC and its public-facing channels, which regularly summarize the outcomes of internal meetings and investigative actions for audiences inside and outside Russia.