On May 29, 2026, the Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast served notices of suspicion under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on two russian colonels who organized a missile strike on Odesa in April 2022.

The suspects

• Oleg Igorevich Skitsky (born July 24, 1980) is a colonel and commander of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment of Long-Range Aviation of the Air Force of the Aerospace Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
• Nikolai Nikolaevich Varpakhovich (born May 29, 1970) is a colonel and commander of the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of Long-Range Aviation of the Air Force of the Aerospace Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

This is not the only war crime they are suspected of. In November 2025, both men were served with notices of suspicion for organizing a missile strike on the historic center of Lviv on September 4, 2024. In February, Varpakhovich also became a suspect over the missile strike on the Kyiv TV Tower on March 1, 2022.

Circumstances of the crime

In April 2022, Varpakhovich, as commander of the division, issued a combat order to carry out missile strikes on Odesa at specified coordinates. Skitsky, as Varpakhovich’s direct subordinate, ensured the execution of this order and issued the relevant instructions to his subordinates — the pilots of Tu-95MS and Tu-160 heavy bombers.

He also organized the development of operational plans and schedules for preparing and carrying out the missile strikes, coordinated the crews’ actions during the flight, and reported the results to senior command.

As a result, on the morning of April 23, 2022, a group of Russian bombers took off from the Engels airbase in Saratov Oblast, Russia, and launched Kh-101 cruise missiles over the Caspian Sea toward Odesa.

At 2:30 p.m., one of the Kh-101 cruise missiles struck the 16-storey apartment building of the Tiras residential complex at 5/4 Akademika Korolova Street. A significant number of apartments and nearby parked vehicles were destroyed, and the Vuzivskyi Business Center at 140A Liustdorfska Road was also damaged.

As a result of the missile explosion at the Tiras residential complex, eight civilians living in the building were killed, including a three-month-old girl. Another 11 civilians sustained injuries of varying severity.

Another Kh-101 missile struck the territory of Novo-Gorodskoye (Tairovske) Cemetery at 33B Akademika Hlushka Street, injuring a woman and destroying and damaging graves.

Suspicion

Varpakhovich and Skitsky were served with notices of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder.

Their actions violated a number of fundamental norms of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions relative to the protection of war victims, the Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, and Additional Protocol I.

Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects that are not military objectives constitutes a war crime.

The criminal proceedings were entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 22023160000000144 on April 14, 2023.