Russia and Ukraine: Unarmed Ukrainian priest shot at checkpoint

Below is an account compiled by the BBC of one of the suspected war crimes incidents.

Russia has been occupying Ukraine for more than a week. From the small town of Yasnohorodka, 40 km west of Q, volunteers – neighbors and friends – set up a checkpoint guarding the entrance to the community.

The conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces was already fierce. Across the country, checkpoints were set up at the entrances of cities and villages, mostly by humans Local volunteers with no military training Proper.

March 5 noon, Rostislav Tudarenko, The The village priest, Yasnohorodka was in office. Its function was to control oncoming vehicles. But like all military clergy, he was there to provide spiritual support for the group. He was in civilian clothes.

It is not possible to establish exactly what happened, but Yukim (not his real name), who escaped the attack, told the BBC that he was managing the checkpoint when he learned that three Russian tanks had gone with Tudarenko and others. Village.

He says the group decided to hide in the woods, ready to face them if needed.

As they approached the checkpoint, The Russian troops began firing “in all directions.”Yukim told the BBC. “When they realized we were hiding in the grass, they ran down the road with their tanks to chase us.”

He says the tanks were back on the road when Tudorenko decided to leave.

“I saw Rostislav lift the cross over his head, get up from his hiding place, and walk towards them with some noise. Maybe he thought to stop them. I tried to call him.”

He says it later The shooting took place in the direction the priest was going And, from his point of view at the time, they seemed to be directly targeting Tudarenko. “That’s it. He took a couple of steps and fell.”

Yukim, wounded in the attack, believes they would all have been killed if the Ukrainian armed forces had not arrived at the time to push back the Russian forces.

Tudarenko, 45, a volunteer group member, has no military status. According to another volunteer, Edward (not his real name), the couple had received some military training during the conflict with Russia in the eastern Donbass.

Some are simply hobbyists. Most say they are over 50 years old.

Edward, who was in another post, came and found out when the Russian tanks were leaving Bodies scattered on the road.

He said he was among them Tudarenko and his assistant -He was also unarmed-, two security volunteers and another person he did not know.

The group was armed with hunting rifles and a small number of Kalashnikovs from the Russian army who came into their hands, with only three bulletproof vests between them. But as a priest, Tudorenko refused to take up armsHis friend and fellow pastor Serhii Tsoma told the BBC.

This made him very vulnerable when he decided to take the tanks, but according to Yukim, such action was in his nature.

“Rostislav was a kind and confident man. That’s why I think he tried to stop the Russians.”

In Yasnohorodka he was known to be always ready to help others, and his friend Soma says he drives through the city to pick up old members of the congregation before Sunday Mass.

From Tudarenko Ukrainian Orthodox ChurchIt finally gained independence from the Russian Orthodox Church in 2019, a move not recognized by Russia.

Prior to the formal split, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine was divided into two branches, one loyal to Moscow and the other loyal to Kiev.

Although Tudorenko served in the church affiliated with Kiev when former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych seized power in Ukraine in 2010, the Moscow Patriarchate began to seize churches in Kiev, including the church of Tudorenko.

So instead of betraying his principles, his friends, Left the church He conducted his services outside even in the rain. He then built a makeshift church in his trailer with the help of donations.

As with thousands of such incidents across the country in recent weeks, the killings were quickly documented by police and local and national prosecutors, with details posted on their respective Facebook pages.

Cases, Allegedly violated Article 438 of Ukraine: Violation of the rules of war has also been uploaded on a centralized website used by government agencies in Ukraine.

In an interview with the BBC last week, Venetikova said such evidence was important.

“We have a special war department in the Attorney General’s office … all law enforcement assists us … our priority is to investigate war crimes.”

“Of course, we do not have enough researchers, so we created a common website: warcrimes.gov.ua“.

The Internet is used not only by the Office of the Attorney General, but also by other government agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, to document all evidence.

“This is very important to us,” he explained. “[La evidencia] Must be accepted and accepted in our Ukrainian courts Within the ICC and other jurisdictions“.

The Kiev Oblast district attorney’s office says the indictment will be released once the investigation into the March 5 shooting in Yasnohorodka is completed.

“The government is doing everything possible to establish the circumstances of every war crime and every culprit: from a soldier to a general, passing on the state’s top military and political leadership. The attacker,” he said. Report.

In some cases, Russian soldiers are already facing the first phase of Ukrainian trials, “he said.” We are not just talking about the possibility of sentencing in our absence. In each particular case, war criminals will be punished according to Ukrainian law. .

Svyatoslav Khomenko contributed to this report.

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