© file photo / AFP
A woman pays tribute near the casket and portrait of Belarus-born journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was killed in a car bomb in central Kyiv in 2016.
The two Ukrainians accused of planting the car bomb that killed journalist Pavel Sheremet in 2016 are known to the public for their roles in the war against Russia-backed forces in the country' s east.
One was singled out for praise by then-President Petro Poroshenko in 2017.
On December 12, law enforcement officials named five people they said have been detained on suspicion of involvement in the killing of Sheremet, who died when an explosive device affixed to the bottom of the car he was driving went off at a Kyiv intersection as he was heading to a studio to host his radio program on July 20, 2016.
A Belarus-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his home,
Sheremet was a muckraking reporter whose death underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others challenging the powerful in Ukraine.
Poroshenko' s government faced persistent criticism over the perceived lack of progress in solving the case. Shortly after taking office in May, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed the push for results in the investigation.
At a press conference to announce the developments, deputy national police chief Yevhen Koval said that
Sheremet's killing was aimed at destabilizing the "social and political situation in Ukraine."
"This is the first step in solving this crime, because only those who planned and committed the murder have been identified," Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka said. "The country still needs to hear...who was the initiator and organizer of this terrible murder."
Comment: It's important to recall, as
Moon of Alabama reminds us, that Sheremet's death was initially blamed on Russia:
Instead, their reports on Sheremet peddled hints that Russia was behind the murder. The New York Times wrote at that time:
By the afternoon, President Petro O. Poroshenko called an emergency meeting of his national security staff and strongly hinted that Russia had been behind the brazen assassination.
"It seems this was an act done with the intention of destabilizing the situation in the country," Mr. Poroshenko said. "In the conditions of war and aggression, I am not excluding the possibility of some foreign interest here."
The Guardian noted:
Zoryan Shkiryak, an aide to the interior minister, said investigators suspected a homemade explosive device of 400-600 grams of TNT equivalent that was possibly detonated remotely.
Shkiryak said the likely motive was Sheremet's professional activities, but added that investigators were considering personal conflicts and the "involvement of Russian special services".
NPR also pointed to Russia:
Hours after the killing, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on television, "It seems to me this was done with one aim in mind: to destabilize the situation in the country," Reuters reports.
...
Sheremet later said he no longer felt safe in Russia. Five years ago, he moved to Kiev. In an interview with Reuters in October, he said, "I'm threatened often and given hints. Every time I go to Moscow, it's like I'm in a minefield."
Following the death of Pavel Sheremet a number of similar assassinations occurred in Kiev which were again blamed on Russia.
Remember this when you recall on all the past evils blamed on Russia in a rush to judgment, and all the future ones, as this phenomenon doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon.
Some articles from the SOTT archive from the time of Sheremet's killing:
Comment: More on the launch: