The attempt of murder of Anton Gerashchenko, Ukrainian MP and counselor to the interior minister, and the assassination of Ukraine-based reporter Pavlo Sheremet were designed somewhere in Russia – by the same terrorist organization. Gerashchenko himself said this at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
‘Having considered all details that are at their disposal, the investigation team says that both of these acts were planned by the same organization of saboteurs and terrorists, based in Russia,’ the official said.
Previously, January 20, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that two men were detained as the suspects in the attempt to murder Gerashchenko by blowing up his car. The criminal case was opened; the investigation is underway.
Pavlo Sheremet was Ukrainian and Russian journalist of Belarusian origin. The 44-year-old is widely famous for his criticism of Russian and Belarusian leaders – Putin and Lukashenko, respectively. Sheremet was imprisoned by the government of Belarus in 1997, sparking an international incident between Belarus and Russia. The New York Times has described him as "known for his crusading reports about political abuses in Belarus" and "a thorn in the side of Lukashenko's autocratic government".He was awarded the Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award in 1999 and the OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy in 2002. He was married and had two children, two sons and a daughter.
