The Motherland Monument in Kyiv. File photoMOSCOW, June 20The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine opened a criminal case against the former mayor of Kyiv for calling to recognize the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.» calls to change the borders of the territory and the state border of Ukraine,» the office of the Prosecutor General said in a Telegram channel. The prosecutor’s office does not name the suspect. According to the department, after the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the ex-mayor posted a publication on his social network page about the need to recognize the borders of the DPR and LPR. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
