Maidan case: former commander of Kyivʼs “Berkut” sentenced in absentia to imprisonment

The former commander of the “Berkut” special police unit in Kyiv was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison and fined UAH 680 000 for crimes committed on February 20, 2014. Although his name is not being disclosed, Serhiy Kusyuk held the position at the time.

This was reported by the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office.

The investigation established that the convicted person, using his official position, contributed to the concealment of traces of serious crimes against protest participants. In particular, he organized the destruction of official documentation and weapons used to shoot protesters.

According to the investigation, 24 AKMS assault rifles, a Dragunov sniper rifle, three Fort-500 rifles, and Fort-12 rifles were taken from the regimentʼs location. The weapons were illegally destroyed: they were cut into pieces, the markings were removed, and some of the fragments were drowned in the Vita River, a tributary of the Dnipro, and the rest were buried on its banks.

In addition, the convict took possession of particularly important official documents of the unit, which subsequently disappeared. This significantly complicated the identification of the direct perpetrators of the shootings and the standard weapons that were assigned to them.

The court found the former “Berkut” officer guilty of abuse of power and official authority by a law enforcement officer; illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives; illegal manufacture and processing of weapons; removal of their markings; and possession of particularly important official documents.

After the revolution, Kusyuk fled to Russia. In 2017, journalists spotted him during the dispersal of protesters by riot police in Moscow.

In 2024, in another case, the court found Serhii Kusyuk guilty in absentia of abuse of power and official authority, as well as inciting national enmity, hatred, and humiliation of national honor and dignity.

The investigation established that during the exhibition "Volyn Massacre — Polish and Jewish Victims of the OUN-UPA" the law enforcement officer, together with his colleagues, exceeded their official authority and caused bodily harm to citizens. Also, 13 people were illegally detained at that time. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and deprived of the special rank of "police colonel".

The Maidan affair

On February 20, 2014, police officers killed 48 protesters in central Kyiv, and another 90 people were shot. The main suspects were 26 members of the Kyiv Berkut. Pavlo Abroskin, Serhiy Zinchenko, Oleksandr Marynchenko, Serhiy Tamtura, and deputy regiment commander Oleh Yanishevsky were on trial in the winter of 2016. In the summer of 2020, the Svyatoshynskyi District Court and its jury were supposed to pass a verdict, but in December 2019, President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to exchange the Berkut officers for Ukrainians captured by the “LPR” and “DPR” militants. The trial stalled for more than a year, because only two of the exchanged officers — Marynchenko and Tamtura — returned to Ukraine. It was decided to try the other defendants in absentia.

In October 2020, the Svyatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv put Abroskin, Zinchenko, and Yanishevsky on the international wanted list. On May 18, 2022, the accused former “Berkut” officers told their version of the events. They denied their guilt and refused to answer all clarifying questions from prosecutors, victims, and even their defense attorneys. They explained this by saying that they consider the prosecutors biased.

On October 4, 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation completed its investigation into the shooting of protesters against suspects from the top state leadership who had ordered the shooting. Among them were Viktor Yanukovych and the entire then-power bloc of Ukraine — nine former high-ranking officials.

On October 18, 2023, former police officers of the Berkut special forces company in Kyiv — Pavlo Abroskin, Serhiy Zinchenko, Oleksandr Marynchenko, Serhiy Tamtura, and deputy commander of the regiment Oleh Yanishevsky — received sentences. Yanishevsky was sentenced to life imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold positions in the law enforcement sphere, Abroskin and Zinchenko received sentences of 15 years in prison. However, all three were released from custody in 2019, and they fled to the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the court acquitted Serhiy Tamtura, who remained in Ukraine. Oleksandr Marynchenko was sentenced to 5 years in prison for abuse of authority.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.