Murder of Moseichuk brothers: suspects told court they were following orders from brigade command – journalist Butsko
The suspects in the case involving the abduction and murder of the Moseichuk brothers referred to orders from the brigade command during court hearings.
Journalist Diana Butsko said this on Butusov Plus, according to Censor.NET.
Details
"I want to emphasise that among those in the dock, I am sorry, but there is an entire battalion commander. He is the one suspected of the murder. The others are suspected of the abduction, while he is suspected of having personally carried out the murder. There is also the brigade’s command sergeant major, an important figure in the brigade and a member of its command. We still do not fully know Luchanov’s status. In my opinion, this indicates that they had built a system within this brigade, a system in which the brigade commander could issue such an order to a group of soldiers, and it was carried out not only by soldiers but also by a battalion commander. I am deeply shocked. When I was first told about this, I honestly thought that something had been confused or perhaps embellished and that it was not true. But the fact that the brigade commander could be involved in all of this, and that people, including officers and various senior brigade officials, to put it in civilian terms, would carry it out, indicates to me that he created such a system within the 155th Brigade, probably a criminal one. Yes, I understand that they are all suspects and that there has been no verdict, but all of this is very frightening," she said.
Butsko said that a local activist who attended the hearing had told her that the suspects had said in court that they were following orders from the brigade command. They did not give any names but referred to such orders.
"I think the investigators have more evidence that may indicate this involvement, but let us wait. Yes, I do not know much about the court hearings because, as I said, they simply went unnoticed. This local activist tried to ask the alleged perpetrator why he had killed those people. He asked the question, but the suspect did not answer. A lawyer immediately intervened and asked him not to draw conclusions because there had not yet been a verdict," the journalist added.
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Background
- On Saturday, 11 July, a number of media outlets, citing their own sources, reported that Stanislav Luchanov, commander of the 155th Separate Mechanised Brigade, was being sought after nine servicemen from the brigade were detained on suspicion of abducting two civilian men from the Kyiv region.
- Hromadske’s sources within law enforcement agencies reported that nine servicemen from the 155th Brigade, including a battalion commander, had been detained in connection with the case.
- The Kyiv region police did not comment on the matter when asked by the media. Luchanov did not answer journalists’ calls.
- According to sources at "Ukrainska Pravda" within law enforcement agencies, the case involves not only the abduction of individuals but also their murder. Following a domestic dispute, the battalion commander ordered his subordinates to abduct two civilians in the Kyiv region, who were then taken to the Poltava region and killed.
- According to sources at ZN.UA, the investigation’s version of events is that Luchanov’s wife was insulted by unknown individuals, after which the brigade commander ordered eight of his subordinates to punish those responsible. They abducted two men – Maksym M. and Roman M., residents of the village of Kalynivka in the Bila Tserkva district – and killed them.
- Operational Command "North" has confirmed reports circulating in the media regarding the search for Stanislav Luchanov, commander of the 155th Separate Mechanised Brigade (military unit A5001).
- The Military Law Enforcement Service reported that the former commander of the 155th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ground Forces ‘North’ Operational Command, and all those identified so far as having participated in the crime, have been notified that they are suspected of unlawful deprivation of liberty and the intentional murder of two civilians in the Kyiv region.
- On July 13, it was reported that Luchanov had been detained in Kyiv and served with a notice of suspicion.
