Russians bring criminals to occupied Ukraine to intimidate locals – Maliar

Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar told about this on her Telegram.

She reported that the Russian occupation authorities cannot achieve the obedience of Ukrainians, and therefore have chosen intimidation tactics – they have brought in various criminals who are under their control. In order to keep society in fear, Russians are deliberately aggravating the crime situation in the temporarily occupied territories. 

"For this purpose, specially trained groups of provocateurs are used, which are formed mostly of people with a criminal past. In this way, the occupiers deliberately provoke an increase in the number of cases of acute conflicts in public places, which escalate into brutal beatings of citizens who disagree with the Russian occupation regime," explains the top official.

At the same time, the occupation "investigative bodies" make decisions exclusively in favour of pro-Russian provocateurs when investigating such situations.

Maliar writes that most of the fights in Strilkove in the Kherson region, where Ukrainians suffered significant injuries, were classified by "investigators" as not constituting a crime. The guilty Russian provocateurs cannot be brought to justice.

"The Russian Federation has always used criminals for political purposes. Back in 2014-2015, they brought their criminal bosses to Ukraine to undermine and destabilise the situation. In an unstable internal situation, it is easier for Russians to realise their criminal intentions," Maliar wrote.

"If the enemy brings its criminals to the temporarily occupied territories, it means that they have to undermine and intimidate for the integration of the “Russian world,” she added.

• The leader of the terrorist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin signed a decree on the establishment and launch of conscription commissions in the temporarily occupied Mariupol.  

• The General Staff said that the losses of locals forcibly mobilised in Luhansk reached about 70 people a day. In order to prevent a public reaction, the Russian occupiers limited the number of people attending the funeral to 6.