Two Berkut officers have been charged with war crimes at a checkpoint near Armiansk
The State Bureau of Investigations has notified former members of the Sevastopol unit of “Berkut”—Konstantin Koltsov and Mykola Lyany—that they are under suspicion. According to the investigation, in February–March 2014, they were involved in the torture and cruel treatment of Ukrainian military personnel, civilians, and volunteers at the “Turkish Wall” checkpoint near Armiansk.
After the occupation of Crimea, both suspects joined the Russian Federation’s occupation security forces. The investigation established their involvement in robberies, beatings, torture, and staged executions of three Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, “Automaidan” activists, journalists, and volunteers from a humanitarian convoy. Most of those detained were subsequently illegally held at the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s guardhouse.
Koltsov and Lyany are currently charged with treason, violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and war crimes; along with another former security officer, Vitaliy Kuznetsov, they are also charged with weapons possession. The perpetrators’ actions at the checkpoint were coordinated by the command of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, specifically by the then-deputy commander Valery Kulikov.
Source: The Book of Torturers of the Ukrainian People.
A former Berkut officer was sentenced to 8 years in prison for attacking an activist in Crimea.
A member of the Kharkiv “Berkut” unit, who is currently an active police officer, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for torturing Maidan protesters during the 2014 protests.
