The invaders killing two Ukrainian minor boys in temporarily occupied Berdiansk is an extrajudicial execution.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, stated this on the air of the telethon on Tuesday.

He refers to the death of two boys born in 2006 – Tyhran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov.

The Russian occupation authorities accused the teenagers of allegedly preparing sabotage on the railway, for which they faced up to 20 years in prison.

There is still no definitive information about what happened to the teenagers. They could have been killed in a firefight with the Russian invaders or at the hands of the Russians while still in the pre-trial detention center, and the death in the firefight could have been staged.

“According to our data, there was an extrajudicial execution of two Ukrainian teenagers in Berdiansk,” the Ombudsman shared with the reporters.

The bodies of the minors have not yet been handed over to their relatives.

“Now we know one thing – the boys died. According to my information, it was an execution and, perhaps, after that, there was some staging to justify the actions of the Russian servicemen,” Lubinets added.

The Commissioner for Human Rights said that after receiving the information that two Ukrainian teenagers received orders of suspicion from the investigative committee of the Russian Federation for an attempt to sabotage the railway, Ukraine immediately tried to help the boys. Lubinets assured that “there were appeals through various channels to Russia, so that, firstly, they would provide us with all the information about them, and, secondly, that the Ukrainian children would be returned home to Ukraine.”

Also, the Ukrainian side urgently appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, but they claimed that they do not have access to Berdiansk, which is temporarily occupied by the Russians, so they cannot fulfill their mandate.

“The bodies of the dead boys were not returned to their relatives. For my part, I officially appealed to Moskalkova (the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, – Ed.) through the communications channel to return the bodies of the boys to their relatives,” Lubinets added.

On June 24, the Russian invaders announced that they had killed two teenagers, whom they called “pro-Ukrainian terrorists.” Allegedly, two teenagers opened fire with automatic weapons on the invaders in Berdiansk. After that, the Russians murdered both boys.

A video, probably recorded by Tyhran, was published on social media. In the footage, Tigran can be seen holding an assault rifle and saying that they eliminated two Russian invaders. In the video, he says: “Two for sure, this is death, guys. Farewell! Glory to Ukraine!”.

However, the boys’ parents believe that the shootout with the invaders and the death video is staged.

“Currently, we see many discrepancies in facts, time, and clothes. This gives reason to question the main version of the Investigative Committee about the attack on the policemen. At least the parents of Tyhran and Mykyta believe that this entire shootout and the death video are staged to kill the boys,” Olha Reshetylova, representative of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, commented on Facebook.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, later said that the information regards Tyhran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov. Both were born in 2006. The boys engaged in a battle with the invaders, during which they destroyed a Russian serviceman and a collaborating policeman.

In May, the Investigative Committee of Russia charged them with allegedly “preparing sabotage on the railway.” They were indicted under an article that provides for up to 20 years of imprisonment.

After the story about the teenagers of Berdiansk gained publicity, the European Parliament demanded that the minors be released to the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. However, at that time, the boys were placed under house arrest.