Poklonskaya Names Perpetrators of Maidan Attack on ‘Berkut’

Earlier, Euromaidan activist Alexander Kostenko was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for injuring a service man of the Crimean "Berkut" in Kiev, on February 18, 2014.

Crimean Prosecutor General Natalia Poklonskaya announced that the Euromaidan leaders, who organized an attack on "Berkut" soldiers in winter 2014, have been identified, gazeta.ru reported.

"Berkut" was a special police unit within the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, which existed from 1992 to 2014.  Since late March 2014, its Crimean unit has become part of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs keeping its old name.

"We identified accomplices as well as organizers — those who gave the unlawful orders to resist and carry out physical attacks on "Berkut" employees, resulting in serious injuries," she said.

According to Poklonskaya, relevant materials have already been handed over to Russia’s Investigative Committee to commence suit against Stanislav Krasnov, a member of the "Azov" Regiment. The far-right volunteering military formation emerged in early May 2014 during the clashes between the governmental forces and pro-Russian militias in Ukraine.

Alexander Kostenko’s confessions became the ground for the legal action against Krasnov.  Kostenko was sentenced to four years in prison for intentionally inflicting bodily harm as well as illegal purchase and possession of firearms. Investigators believe that Kostenko and Krasnov were accomplices, the newspaper reported.