Ageyev suspected of setting up terrorist group or organization in Ukraine

Published July 24, 2017 at 9:37 pm

Viktor Ageyev (R), a Russian detained in the war-torn Ukrainian east, sits with his mother Svetlana Ageyeva as he is presented to the media during a meeting organised by the Ukrainian security forces, in a temporary prison in Starobilsk, some 80 kms (about 50 miles) north of the rebel stronghold of Lugansk, on July 22, 2017.The 21-year-old Russian captured by Kiev's forces in the war-torn Ukrainian east claimed to have travelled there on a military mission as a serving professional soldier, repeating Kiev's account. The Russian defence ministry earlier dismissed Kiev's claim as "a fiction of Ukrainian propagandists," saying Ageyev served as a conscript but then left the forces. Ageyev is being held prisoner by Kiev and has been charged with involvement in a "terrorist" organisation, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. / AFP PHOTO / GENYA SAVILOV

Photo by AFP

Viktor Ageyev, a Russian citizen detained in Luhansk region, is suspected of setting up a terrorist group or organization, Ageyev’s lawyer Vytaliy Voronko said.

“He is currently a suspect in the case, a pre-trial inquiry is underway. Certain investigative activities are being conducted, he was questioned and examined,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on July 24.

Ageyev is suspected of setting up a terrorist group or a terrorist organization, running such a group or organization or participating in it, as well as providing material, organizational or any other assistance to the establishment or activities of a terrorist group or organization. This article of the Ukrainian Criminal Code provides for imprisonment for the period from eight to 15 years.

Luhansk region’s Severodonetsk City Court imposed on Ageyev a restrictive measure in the form of imprisonment for two months right after his detention in late June, and the Russian soldiers is currently in the Starobilsk remand prison in Luhansk region, the lawyer said.

On June 24 Ukrainian Armed Forces said they had detained a sabotage and reconnaissance team near the village of Zholobok, Slovianoserbsk district. Ageyev was among the detained persons.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ageyev had performed compulsory military service with the Russian Armed Forces and was discharged to the reserve under the established procedure in May 2016.