Citizen of Serbia served with charges for participation in illegal armed formation, assisting Russia's occupation of Crimea - Interfax-Ukraine

A citizen of Serbia, a member of a "self-defense" squad and member of the Severnyi Veter (Northern Wind) group has been served a notice of suspicion under the procedural guidance of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) for Crimea, as Interfax-Ukraine reported. The PGO's office for Crimea said it was exercising procedural control over a criminal case opened on the fact of the creation and existence of illegal armed groups in Russia-occupied Crimea that are suspected of committing crime under Part 2 of Article 260 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, which are being investigated by the Main Department of the National Police for Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the PGO's press service said. "Evidence of the involvement of the Serbian citizen in the activity of the illegal armed group, named 'Sevastopol Self-Defense,' was obtained during the pretrial investigation. The individual was served a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 260 of Ukraine's Criminal Code," the PGO's office said. The pretrial investigation established that in February and March 2014, the Serbian citizen, acting as a reconnaissance fighter of the Severnyi Veter illegal armed reconnaissance group, which belonged to the Sevastopol Self-Defense group, helped Russia-occupation forces to establish control over strategic facilities in Crimea, electric transmission lines and gas pipeline stations near Sevastopol, as well as he was involved in so-called patrolling activities in Sevastopol. Interfax-Ukraine