Ukrainian prisoners of war will not be given back to their families. Mariupol was bombed like Leningrad. And sausages have become more expensive

Retelling of the speech of the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin in St. Petersburg

There is information that Ukraine was preparing a special operation for March 8 with an exit to the Russian border from Severodonetsk. Ukrainian troops are committing atrocities, especially with prisoners of war. Mariupol was wiped off the face of the earth. It was not by mistake that the shell landed — it was aimed at a school, a hospital, a shopping center. Blockaded Leningrad was better preserved. And it was not the Germans there. I was thinking about how else to punish Ukrainian prisoners of war. Now we are spoon-feeding them, treating them. We decided not to give them up. They thought: "We will surrender and go to our families." No — to the pretrial detention center. There are two thousand such fighters now. The Investigative Committee will work with them. When mass riots began in Moscow and St. Petersburg after February 24 — five people attacked one policeman — I gave the order to strictly initiate cases. When the sanctions hit, sausage in restaurants became more expensive. It turned out that there are no planes — we get components from the USA. Why didn't they create their own?! All the creative intelligentsia left for Israel. Chubais was spotted in Turkey at an ATM. Trends like "I'm ashamed that I'm Russian" appeared. Why have you been silent since 2014, when our Russian brothers were killed and burned? There are many wounded in hospitals - they need help. I ordered that from July 1, our cadets should not go to arms, but to the hospital. Not to write on social networks, but to carry stretchers. This is how we educate our youth. The new generation will pass the test with dignity. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours. Hooray, comrades!

This is a rough retelling of Alexander Bastrykin's speech at the St. Petersburg Youth Legal Forum. Some statements have been edited to preserve the general meaning of what was said. Based on materials from Fontanka , Rotunda , TASS ( one , two ).

In wartime, it is not always possible to promptly verify statements made by representatives of one or another side in the conflict. Treat such information with caution.

Cover photo: Mikhail Kireev / Roscongress Foundation