Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative at the Contact Group on Donbas, has asserted that Ukraine agreed to not “persecute” those released as part of the December 29, 2019, exchange of prisoners. This would include the five former Berkut officers who were charged with gunning down at least 39 Maidan activists on February 20, 2014.
That directly contradicts what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka have claimed, and clarity from them on what exactly was agreed is urgently required.
Russia has already gained a major victory through its demand that the five Maidan suspects were included on the exchange list, and it is quite possible that it is now seeking maximum mileage in fostering distrust of Ukraine’s leaders.