Vasyl Klymentyev, a well-known muckraker with close ties to Kharkiv law-enforcement officials, vanished without a trace on Aug. 11. What happened to the 67-year old journalist remains a mystery.
Key dates in the case
Aug. 11: Parents of 67-year Vasyl Klymentyev notify police about their son’s disappearance. Police determine Klymentyev was last seen that day getting into a grey BMW sedan and driving off.
Aug. 15: Kharkiv police open criminal case for 1st degree murder.
Aug. 17: Klymentyev’s mobile phone is found floating in the Pechenezskiy Reservoir, which is located near the estates of several well-off Kharkiv public officials.
Aug. 19: Klymentyev’s assistant tells journalists in Kharkiv that an aide to a Kharkiv prosecutor offered Klymentyev $10,000 in exchange for not publishing negative information about him.
Aug. 26: Interior Minister Serhiy Mohylyov says his ministry’s main investigative department will take take charge of the case because Kharkiv police officials may be involved.