Censor.net chief editor Yuriy Butusov says Major General Viktor Nazarov, who was found guilty of the death of Ukrainian paratroopers in an Il-76 aircraft shot down by armed terrorists in Donbas and sentenced to seven years in prison, has filed a letter of resignation from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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"Over the past five years, he has been the second most influential person in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the right hand of [former] Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko, holding the post of Acting First Deputy Chief of the General Staff," Butusov wrote on Facebook.
The journalist also reiterated Dnipropetrovsk region's Pavlohrad court had found Nazarov guilty of official negligence, which allowed Russian-led terrorists to shoot down the Il-76 aircraft at Luhansk airport.
"The general appealed [the court ruling]. Over the years after the verdict, Nazarov has managed to press for the dismissal of two military pilots – experts in the Il-76 case," Butusov said.
According to the journalist, Nazarov also appears in the case of official negligence in the Ilovaisk massacre, which has not been heard in court yet.
"After the resignation, Major General Nazarov will have enough time to participate in court hearings," Butusov added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Il-76 plane was downed with the use of a Russian anti-aircraft system in June 2014 when landing at Luhansk airport. Nine crew members and 40 paratroopers of the 25th Dnipropetrovsk Separate Airborne Brigade aboard were killed in that terrorist attack.
On March 27, 2017, Nazarov was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of neglect of duty and inaction in the Il-76 case. However, he filed an appeal, which is still under consideration. Currently, Nazarov is not in custody.
