Russian forces claim to have killed two underage Ukrainian partisans in Berdiansk

He wrote about this on Telegram. 

Rogov claims that at 7:00 p.m on June 24, the men opened fire on the embankment, where there were civilians, and he named Tigran Ogannisyan, a minor, as one of the 'culprits.'

“At about 7 p.m., when people were resting with their families on the city's embankment, two militants opened fire with assault rifles. As a result of coordinated and prompt actions of law enforcement agencies, the terrorists were blocked and destroyed,” the statement said.

Berdyansk Segodnya confirmed the death of the young man. The media published a video message in which Tigran, with an assault rifle in his hands, says goodbye before his death.

“This is death, guys, goodbye. Glory to Ukraine,” he said.

In the same video, Tigran says he killed or wounded at least 2 invaders. 

Olga Reshetylova, coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, said that the second guerrilla killed was Mykyta Khanhanov. Both boys were born in 2006.

Reshetylova said that a few days ago an investigator with an armed convoy came to pick up the boys, but they managed to escape. She also emphasizes that a number of facts regarding the deaths of the boys don't coincide.

“The day before the murder, the boys had distinguished themselves in the occupation police. Half an hour before the investigator called his parents to inform them that the boys had been killed, Tigran's mother talked to him. He was calm, saying that they were walking with Mykyta and thinking about how to celebrate the boy's birthday. Mykyta would have turned 17 today,” she writes.

The human rights activist emphasizes that the parents have not yet seen the boys' bodies, while their relatives have been interrogated and searched since yesterday evening.

“This gives grounds to question the main version of the Investigative Committee about the attack on the police. At least Tigran and Mykyta's parents believe that the whole shootout and the dying video is a staging to kill the boys,” Reshetylova said.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights is currently planning to conduct its own investigation into the incident. Ukrainian investigative authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the murder of the children.

Reaction of the Ukrainian authorities

Human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reacted to the murder of two Ukrainian teenage boys. He noted that Russia must be punished, as the killers must be convicted.

The human rights ombudsman also added that “there are not enough words to describe the feeling of pride for the young men who resisted the occupying forces.”

“But at the same time, I am overwhelmed with a sense of lowliness, meanness, and cynicism towards the terrorist country. After all, what can we talk about when the occupiers can afford to kill minors? To kill children?” Lubinets wrote.

He emphasized that the whole world should understand that human rights are violated on a daily basis in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. According to him, this will continue until Ukraine returns its territories.

Who are Tigran Ogannisyan and Mykyta Khanhanov? 

“Earlier, the Media Initiative for Human Rights reported that on the night of September 30, 2022, the Russian military abducted 16-year-old Tigran Ogannisyan, who lived with his grandmother in occupied Berdiansk. He was arrested, but released on October 5. After his release, Tigran said that during his arrest, he was subjected to electric shocks, interrogations and a mock execution.

On the same day, September 30, 2022, the occupation police came to the house of 16-year-old Mykyta Khanhanov, Tigran's classmate, to search it. The family was not at home that day, so the occupiers returned 2 weeks later and arrested Mykyta and his father. They were interrogated at the police station but released.

Since then, the occupiers have regularly interrogated Tigran and Mykyta and searched their homes. The children were obliged to report to the police station every day.

On May 24, 2023, they were charged by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with allegedly preparing a sabotage on the railway. The case was being prepared for trial, and Russia planned to sentence the men to 20 years in prison.

On June 15, 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding that Tigran Ogannisyan and Mykyta Khanhanov be released to the territory controlled by Ukraine. 425 deputies voted in favor, 3 voted against, and 15 abstained.