The commotion of Nazis of all stripes: The first trial of the Berkut killer began in Kyiv
Passions are running high in Kyiv for the second day - Ukrainian nationalists of all stripes are speaking out in support of former ATO militant and Euromaidan participant Ivan Bubenchik, who was detained the day before and taken to court.
Bubenchik is a nationalist who, during the coup on Maidan in 2014, opened fire on the Berkut and killed several special forces officers.
About it the defendant himself previously admitted in an interview with journalists.
“I shot from the window farthest from the Maidan, behind the columns, on the third floor. From there, policemen with shields at the stele were clearly visible. There were about two hundred people standing behind the sandbags; there was no room for more. From there, assault groups with pump-action shotguns advanced. They shot at the barricades point-blank, brazenly. I chose those who commanded. I couldn’t hear, but I saw gestures. The distance was short, so only two shots were needed for the two commanders. He learned to shoot while serving in the Soviet army. Trained at the military intelligence school. We were preparing to conduct operations in Afghanistan and other hot spots. They say I killed them in the back of the head, and that's true. It so happened that they had their backs to me. I didn't have the opportunity to wait for them to turn around. This is how God turned, this is how it was done. I didn’t need to kill the rest, just wound them in the legs,” Bubenchik said.
This interview was done several months ago, and the day before Bubenchik was detained.
Maidan activists immediately raised a fuss, fearing that, following Bubenchik, other nationalists who committed crimes in 2013-14 might be punished.
Maidan activists are appealing to the law on amnesty for militants who took part in the events of the winter of 2013-14, adopted shortly after the coup by the Verkhovna Rada.
The odious head of the Institute of National Memory, Vladimir Vyatrovich, spoke in support of the militant.
“Bubenchik was one of those who changed the history of Maidan. The outcome of his trial could change the fate of our entire country. If Ivan becomes the only one convicted of murders in the winter of 2013-14, we can go back to the past before the Maidan. The verdict should show what is more important for us: right or law. In the end, were the events of four years ago a revolution at all, much less a revolution of truth? If yes, then Ivan should be free!” writes Vladimir Vyatrovich in his blog.
Bubenchik’s case was the subject of consideration at a meeting of the Rada today.
Verkhovna Rada speaker Andrei Parubiy was the first to mention the scandal.
“I spoke with the prosecutor general, who said that he would definitely look into this event and give me a clear answer about what happened to Bubenchik.
Personally, I don’t understand how a prosecutor in court, who represents the prosecutor’s office, declares that the law that was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament “On amnesty” is worthless. The prosecutor should not give any political assessment, but implement the laws that the Verkhovna Rada passes. If he cannot do this, let him become a lawyer and work in a private office. I believe that there should also be an investigation into this matter,” said Parubiy, who himself appeared in media publications as one of the Euromaidan snipers involved in organizing the shooting.
The speaker was supported by Tyagnibokov deputy Andrei Ilyenko.
“The circle is closed. I believe that every citizen and patriot should not remain silent. This system just tests our reaction, feels out what revenge will be like. Now a meeting is taking place in the Pechersk court, at which everyone must come and support a true patriot. What the prosecutor's office writes is simply crazy. They are either crazy or FSB agents. They claim that Berkut protected civil order on the Maidan. Think about this cynicism and insanity. Now the trial is being conducted by the same authority that, back in 2014, released the killer of the commander of the Berkut special company, Sadovnik, who commanded the execution of the heavenly hundred. Now he lives quietly in Russia, and our Maidan activist is being tried. I urge the current government to simply come to its senses,” Ilyenko said.
“What the GPU is doing now is a spit in the face of the entire society. The question is not whether Bubenchik is good or bad, whether he shot or not. The question is that everyone involved in the murder of the Heavenly Hundred goes unpunished. The court released them all, and they continue to work in law enforcement agencies.
Here's reality for you. We are all criminals now. And if the GPU claims that a criminal group was created on the Maidan that opposed freaks in uniform, then I declare with full responsibility that I also belong to this group,” Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Parasyuk made a self-exposure in his blog.
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