In a sign that perhaps a video purportedly showing the execution of two men at the hands of a separatist leader called "Demon" is real, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov in an official statement vowed to avenge the men's deaths and said he holds Russia’s leadership responsible for their execution.
In the video, published to YouTube, the two men, who are not recognizable
but are believed to be Vasyl Budiak, a Ukrainian activist, and Oleksandr Vasiiushchenko, the head of the local Security Service of Ukraine department in
Artemivsk, Donetsk Oblast, stand facing a black wall in a darkened room with
bags over their heads and their hands tied behind their backs.
As the camera pans to two unidentified gunmen, Igor Bezler, nicknamed
“Bes,” meaning “Demon” in Russian, delivers an ultimatum to Ukrainian
authorities to release a “person” captured this week, or he will kill eight
captives two by two.
“For three days, the Ukrainian junta has refused to
swap officers for a person they captured,” Bezler begins. “I have in captivity three
colonels – one of them is an SBU colonel – and three lieutenant colonels. At
this moment, all agreements have been violated by the Ukrainian side. I waited
for three days, but I have no more time to wait. This is why we will now shoot
Misters Budiak and Vasiiushchenko,” the mustachioed Bezler, donning green
fatigues with a pistol holstered at his side, says flatly into the camera.
“For Mr. Turchynov, Parubiy and the rest: if in
an hour my man is not freed, the second couple will be shot in an hour,” Bezler
continues, referring to acting President Oleksandr Turchynov and National
Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Parubiy.
“Another 1.5 hours later, the third couple (will
be shot), and so on until eight officers are shot. If the Ukrainian army and
state does not need these officers, then I don’t need them all the more.”
And with that, Bezler gives
his men the order to execute the officers.
“Load. Aim. Fire.”
As a burst of gunfire rings out, the bodies of the two
men drop to the floor and Bezler strolls out of the view of the camera.
The Kyiv Post could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
In the above video, posted to YouTube, separatist leader Igor Bezler issues an ultimatum to Kyiv before giving his men the order to execute two hostages.
It is possible that the event was a mock execution. In May, Bezler said he had shot two district police chiefs who had been taken prisoner after refusing to swear allegiance to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Later it was discovered that the two men were alive and had been released.
But a separatist representative told the Financial Times the execution by firing squad shown in the video was authentic.
“I can confirm that this happened,” Alexander Khryakov, a leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told the newspaper.
Turchynov holds Russia’s leadership responsible for Bezler’s actions
In his statement published on the official parliament website after the release of the video on June 5, Turchynov said the blood of the two men executed is on the hands of Russia’s leadership.
“The citizen of the Russian Federation Igor Bezler, nicknamed Bes (Demon), will not be able to escape from punishment,” the statement quotes the interim president as saying.
Bezler, Turchynov adds, is “a criminal and murderer, this is why he has to be punished, under both Ukrainian and international law.”
Turchynov also said that no negotiations will be conducted with murderers and terrorists.
“The responsibility for the bloody crimes of the citizen of the Russian Federation Bezler also lies on the political leadership of Russia, which continues to arm and support the criminal terror in the east of Ukraine,” he said.
The identity of the person captured by Ukrainian authorities who Bezler wants released is unknown. But Oleh Lyashko, leader of Ukraine’s Radical party and a former presidential candidate, wrote on Facebook that the person is an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
“The responsibility for the bloody crimes of Russian Bes in Ukraine rests personally with (President Vladimir) Putin,” he added.
Kyiv Post editor Christopher J. Miller can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @ChristopherJM.
