SBU reveals motives of Russian missile spotter arrested in Kramatorsk
That’s according to a spokesperson for the local State Security unit, Halyna Pryshchepa, who answered an Ukrinform correspondent’s question during a briefing.
She noted that the investigators had recently forwarded to court an indictment against the individual suspected of helping Russians launch a missile attack on the Ria Lounge restaurant, where many were killed.
"We have gathered all necessary evidence base. The man is charged under Article 111 Part 2 (Treason) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and we are already waiting for a just court verdict... He did it not for money, but for his ideological reasons. As his colleagues told later, he never hid his pro-Russian position," the spokesperson said.
She noted that the only suspect in the case is an enemy spotter, an employee of a gas transmission company in the city of Kramatorsk. He received an instruction from his former acquaintance, who is now with the ‘intelligence unit of the ‘DPR’ internal forces command’ to verify reports that Ukrainian soldiers were dining in the Ria Lounge restaurant in Kramatorsk.
The spotter recorded two video files on his phone, showing military vehicles parked outside the venue and sent them to the said acquaintance, the SBU learned.
Just 3.5 hours later, the Russians launched a missile attack on the restaurant.
"After taking pictures of the restaurant, the culprit returned home and had a peaceful sleep. And already in the morning, on June 28, law enforcers apprehended him. He was at home and probably did not expect they would come for him so quickly," the spokesperson stated.
As reported, on the evening of June 27, 2023, the Russian army hit the Ria Lounge restaurant in the center of Kramatorsk, launching an Iskander-K missile from the territory of Russia.
As a result of the strike, 13 people were killed and 60 were injured. Among the dead were 14-year-old twins.
In general, all those killed, except for two soldiers, were civilians, most of them were restaurant staff.
