Greek court released Serhiy Melnychuk from custody. The former commander of Aidar volunteer battalion and the ex-MP walks free, after a brief detention. Melnychuk himself reported that on Facebook.
The man, his pregnant wife and 9-month-old son may now leave the EU territory without any hindrance.
The ex-battalion commander claimed he was charged with murdering people in Russia's Rostov region, and thus Russia trumped up a case that was later passed to the Interpol, with a request to detain him. Melnychuk claims that it's about the combat mission in Luhansk region, not in Rostov region, but Russia's law enforcers somehow considered Ukraine's region part of their territory.
"If it's about the reporters that deceased not far from Luhansk, they belonged to Zarya terrorist group. When there was fighting, and I adjusted artillery fire, I saw armed people, and some armed people died there. Probably, there were reporters among them who collected reconnaissance data. As a unit commander, I didn't get any information on the accredited journalists", he said.
He added that Russian journalists who illegally infiltrated the territory of Ukraine, collected reconnaissance data, inspired propaganda against Ukraine and incited hatred between the two states should be prosecuted in Ukraine and other international courts.
Melnychuk, his wife and little son were detained on the border with Greece on March 1. After negotiations with Ukrainian consul who reached Melnychuk in Greece, Interpol claimed it intended to reconsider Russia's request about putting Melnychuk on the international wanted list.
