The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine has provided evidence that members of the Russian-backed "Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR") terrorist organization are involved in the death of a 15-year-old Ukrainian girl in the village of Zalizne in the east of Ukraine on May 29.
Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko's press secretary Larysa Sargan said that Ukrainian investigators have convincing evidence that the terrorist act was committed by "DPR" members.
"According to the protocol of the examination conducted with a military specialist, a crater which is 170 cm in diameter and 50 cm in depth was possibly formed as a result of an explosion of a 120mm projectile that was fired most likely from a mortar of various modifications whose range is 7-9 km. The minimum range is 460 meters," Sargan said.
According to neighbors and relatives of the killed girl who were nearby during the incident, they did not hear a shot, which indicates that it was fired from a long distance.
According to the protocol, the shape of the crater formed as a result of the explosion reveals that the shot was fired from the west-north-west, that is, from the area adjacent to the Gagarin coal mine, which is controlled by the "DPR."
The PGO has been investigating the case under Part 3 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (a terrorist act), Sargan said.
