Ukraine Day 894: LIVE UPDATES BELOW.
Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here.
- READ OUR SPECIAL REPORT:
An Invasion By Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine
“Mr. Yefremov is one of the suspects in a case of organizing terrorist groups, encroachment on the territorial sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. We want to take a look as a whole at the actions of a large number of officials, ordinary participants in this criminal organization. For this, we need cooperation with civil society.”
“If citizen Yefremov would provide testimony about, I think, were the plans of the Russian Federation leadership known to him at the very start of the unleashing of aggression against Ukraine, about who first brought in Russian fighters to the territory of Lugansk to seize the SBU building, then the OGA [Regional State Administration] and so on, who financed, armed the home-grown separatists.I think that the investigation will take into consideration his testimony. From my perspective, citizen Yefremov is a very valuable witness who can provide testimony about how the situation developed at the early stage of the Russian Federation’s undeclared war against Ukraine.”
Lutsenko is being held in an investigation cell of the Ukrainian State Security (SBU).
Under Ukrainian law, he is supposed to be brought before a judge within 72 hours of his arrest.
Lutsenko was previously arrested and released on bail in 2015 on similar charges.
The prosecutor is investigating a statement that Lyashko made saying that he would offer $50 million for not suporting the prosecution of parliamentary member Serhiy Klyuyev.
Last year, the EU extended until March 2016 sanctions placed on Klyuyev and other officials related to the Yanukovych government responsible for human rights violations. But ultimately they unfroze his assets along with others originally sanctioned, due to insufficient evidence, although he was kept on the sanctions list.