(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This was reported in an interview with Ukrinfor by Pavlo Uhrovetsky, head of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.

"Despite extremely difficult conditions and insidious attacks by the enemy, prosecutors and law enforcement officers have been able to document more than 59,000 crimes committed by the army of the aggressor state. We recorded targeted strikes on civilian vehicles and even evacuation vehicles. At the same time, the Russian military clearly saw that there were civilians there," said the prosecutor, answering a question about how many criminal proceedings had been initiated for war crimes since February 2022 in the Donetsk region.

Uhrovecky stated that in more than three years, the occupiers have killed 4,472 civilians in Donetsk Oblast [as of November 28, 2025], including 279 minors – those who were supposed to build the future of our state. The occupiers also wounded 8,571 people, including civilians, journalists, energy workers, doctors, volunteers, police officers, and rescuers.

"Behind every number is a human tragedy. At the same time, the number of victims of Russian aggression is not complete, as we do not have access to the temporarily occupied territories. There are still people there whose suffering and losses have yet to be established and documented," added the head of the prosecutor's office.

He stressed that criminal liability for war crimes is provided for at both the national and international levels.

“Identifying specific perpetrators is one of the key areas of our work. Every strike against civilians and civilian infrastructure is not 'anonymous shelling' but a crime with specific perpetrators: commanders who give the relevant orders and units that carry them out,” Uhrovetsky explained.

According to him, evidence is collected from various sources, including statements from victims and witnesses, photo, video, and audio materials, expert conclusions (forensic, ballistic, military, etc.), information from military and operational units, and the results of OSINT intelligence.

All this helps to form a complete picture of the development of events in order to gather sufficient evidence and notify a particular person of suspicion.

The prosecutor gave a vivid example of the painstaking work involved in the proceedings, which comprise 20 volumes:“We have notified the commander of the 4th Army of the Russian Armed Forces in absentia of his suspicion for violating the laws and customs of war.”

Read also: Over 73,000 homes and infrastructure facilities destroyed or damaged in Donetsk region by Russians since

Uhrovecky stated that in March 2022, it was this Russian commander who approved combat sorties to bomb Mariupol.

"As a result, Su-30SM/Su-30M2 fighter jets carried out air strikes on the courtyard of the women's clinic, the maternity ward, and the children's hospital in the city center. In addition, despite the word“CHILDREN” written on the asphalt (written by civilians in Russian), an enemy SU-34 dropped a FAB-500 bomb on the drama theater in Mariupol, where about 1,000 civilians, most of them children, women, and elderly people," said the head of the prosecutor's office, recalling that some of these people died, while others suffered injuries of varying severity.

As reported, Donetsk region is under constant shelling by Russian troops, with the Russian army killing and injuring civilians, destroying houses, businesses, energy, gas, and other infrastructure facilities on an almost daily basis. Donetsk region has the longest front line, stretching about 300 km.

Photo: Mariupol City Council

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