Four ex-Berkut fighters, suspected in Maidan massacre, fled to Russia

Former fighters of the Kharkiv Berkut riot police Oleksandr Kostiuk, Vladyslav Masteha, Artem Voilokov and Vitalii Honcharenko crossed the Ukrainian-Russian border on April 13.

This was announced by their lawyer Valentyn Rybin, Censor.NET reports.

He said that out of four suspects restraint measures were applied only to Honcharenko. He was obliged to appear at the first request of the court. "However, the jurisdiction has not been defined yet," Rybin said.

According to him, the other three ex-Berkut fighters had no restraint measures. Kostiuk's measure in the form of a personal commitment ended up in March. Voilokov and Masteha were under home arrest until April 13. On April 13, the term of home arrest expired.

"They quietly took a bus on April 13 and left to Russia. By internal passports, openly and easily," Rybin said.

"They did not run away, because they were not under restraint measures," he said.

Yesterday, the video of the message of the former Berkut fighters was posted on the Rybin's fund Odyssey YouTube channel.

The ex-Berkut fighters stated that during the events at Maidan they performed a constitutional duty "opposing the radicals, protecting the lives, health and safety of law-abiding citizens". They claim they can prove their innocence in court.

On Feb. 4, 2017 Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv changed the restraint measure for Honcharenko from custody to home arrest.