MOSCOW, July 18 (RAPSI) – The attorneys of Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Dnipropetrovsk Governor Ihor Kolomoisky, who have been charged under a criminal case on developments in southeast Ukraine, have not appealed the decisions of the Basmanny District Court in Moscow on their arrest in absentia, the court’s press secretary, Anna Fadeyeva, told RIA Novosti.

The court rulings are therefore considered to be in effect, she said.

Russia’s Code of Criminal Procedure includes a provision on the restoration of the missed time limit for filing appeals.

The Russian Investigative Committee requested a court warrant for the arrest of Dnipropetrovsk Governor Ihor Kolomoisky in late June and filed for the arrest of Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov in early July.

The committee earlier opened a criminal case against these Ukrainian officials under Russian articles on “the masterminding of murder, the use of prohibited methods and means of warfare, abduction, and the hindering of the legitimate activities of journalists.”

Avakov and Kolomoisky, who were put on the international wanted list, said they were not worried. Experts told RIA Novosti that their arrest in absentia could complicate their travel to some countries, whereas other countries would likely disregard the provision.

The Kiev government launched a military operation in mid-April to suppress the anti-Maidan movement in eastern Ukraine, which did not recognize the legitimacy of the February coup in Kiev. Moscow urged Kiev to stop the “punitive military operation,” which has claimed many lives on both sides, including innocent civilians.