Source: Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, SSU
Quoted from the prosecutor's office: "Under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, two Russian generals have been charged with ecocide and violations of the laws and customs of war, committed in conspiracy by a group of individuals (part 2 of article 28, article 441, part 2 of article 28, part 1 of article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Environmental prosecutors, together with SSU investigators, identified two Russian generals as accomplices in the ecological disaster, specifically the destruction of the dam of the Oskol Reservoir in the Kharkiv region."
Details: According to the investigation, one of the suspects is a native of Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv region, Lieutenant General Oleg Makovetsky, commander of the 6th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Western Military District.
The prosecutor's office notes that he is already a suspect in several criminal cases related to orders for bombings in Kharkiv and the surrounding area. In particular, he is suspected of orchestrating an airstrike on the "Epicenter" shopping center in Kharkiv.
"It was under his orders that the Oskol Reservoir dam was struck with X-59 missiles and FAB-250/500/1500 aerial bombs," the statement reads.
The second suspect is Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District of the Russian Federation (military unit No. 89425, Voronezh).
According to the investigation, during the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in September 2022, he ordered the dam of the reservoir to be mined and blown up as the Russian army was retreating from the Kharkiv region.
On September 12, his subordinate engineering and sapper units detonated the shield of the first gate and the road barrier between the hydroelectric power station building and the stationary mechanisms gallery.
During this time, aviation groups under Makovetsky's command provided air cover for the Russian sappers. Subsequently, from September 13 to 30, Russian bombers regularly shelled the dam with FAB-250, FAB-500, OFAB-500SHL, and KAB-1500 bombs.
The destruction of the dam reportedly led to an ecological disaster of national significance. The reservoir lost up to 70% of its water, fertile soils were eroded, and unique natural ecosystems were threatened with destruction.
As a result of the draining of the Oskol Reservoir and flooding of the coastal zone, changes occurred in the natural-technogenic ecosystem of the Seversky Donets River. Experts estimate the total environmental damage at nearly 4 billion hryvnias.
Evidence of the use of Russian aerial munitions was found at the crime scene. Additionally, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down an enemy fighter jet that participated in the attack on the dam.
Investigations are ongoing to identify other Russian military personnel involved in this war crime.