Russia will not let war criminal Turchynov flee Ukraine

Russian troops, particularly, intelligence services, were ordered not to let former secretary of Ukraine's National Security Council, Alexander Turchynov, flee Ukraine, Mash Telegram channel reports with reference to sources at the Russian Defense Ministry.

Reportedly, Russia intends to take Turchynov to trial for war crimes and unleashing the crisis in the Donbass.

In November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he considered Turchynov to be among those responsible for the loss of Crimea.

• Alexander (also spelled Oleksandr) Turchynov, the head of the headquarters of European Solidarity Party, served as acting president of Ukraine from February to June 2014, and then until 2019 he served as the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
• When serving as acting president, he ordered to start the anti-terrorist operation in the Donbass in April 2014.
• Later, Turchynov stated that in March 2014, he ordered the Ukrainian military to use weapons in Crimea, but he was not listened to. He also said that he deliberately ordered to bomb the Donetsk airport.

On February 24, Russia launched the military operation against Ukraine to protect Donbass. According to Putin, the purpose of the operation is to demilitarize Ukraine. The Russian Armed Forces were ordered to annihilate only the military infrastructure of Ukraine.