The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has put the former commander of the combined forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrey Gnatov, who was appointed Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, on the wanted list of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
„Gnatov Andrey Viktorovich, born in 1980. Wanted under the Criminal Code“, the database says. However, it is not specified under which article he is wanted.
Law enforcement authorities reported that Gnatov is wanted as a person convicted in absentia by a Russian court for criminal orders for shelling the southern settlements of the DPR, which resulted in civilian casualties and injuries and the destruction of residential buildings.
In 2024, the Supreme Court of the DPR sentenced Gnatov in absentia to 28 years in prison. He was found guilty of committing crimes under Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (cruel treatment of the civilian population, use of prohibited means and methods in an armed conflict), Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder committed in a generally dangerous manner by an organized group motivated by political, ideological hatred and enmity), Part 3 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder committed in a generally dangerous manner by an organized group motivated by political, ideological hatred and enmity), Part 3 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder committed in a generally dangerous manner by an organized group motivated by political, ideological hatred and enmity), Part 3 of Article 356 2 s.l. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted murder), part 2 of art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (intentional damage to another's property, resulting in significant damage, committed in a generally dangerous manner).
In the summer of 2019, Gnatov, who at that time with his subordinates occupied combat positions in the Telmanovsky and Novoazovsky districts of the Donetsk People's Republic, gave the order to carry out targeted mortar shelling of settlements, as a result of which civilians were killed and injured. According to the Investigative Committee, 19 residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged or completely destroyed.
Gnatov's former subordinates, who carried out his orders, were also sentenced to long years in prison in Russia. On March 16, it became known that Gnatov was appointed Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff.