Donetsk, Aug 16 — DAN. Donetsk People’s Republic prosecutors instituted criminal proceedings against servicemen of the Ukrainian army’s 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade whose actions led to the mass death of animals in the Donetsk Botanical Garden, the DPR Prosecutor General’s Office press service reported on Tuesday. 

Ukrainian armed formations fired multiple rocket launchers at Donetsk’s Kalininsky district on August 10. Projectiles hit the Donetsk brewery causing an ammonia leak. The Russian Defense Ministry said the Ukrainian gunmen’s attack was proof of the genocide committed by the Kiev regime.

“These actions exceeded the maximum permissible ammonia levels in the air of the inshore zone in the territory of the Donetsk Botanical Garden by ten times, and in the water body by 40 times which led to the destruction of the flora and fauna in the territory adjacent to the leak and ammonia spread area, ” the PGO said.

Prosecutors filed a criminal case under DPR Criminal Code Article 429 (ecocide). It covers mass death of wildlife, the poisoning of air and water bodies, and the commission of other actions that can provoke an environmental disaster in the Republic’s territory.

The penalty envisions punishment of up to 20 years in prison.*jk