Journalist Pavel Sheremet had contacts in the Russian Federation a month before his death, and this could affect the motive for his murder, said director of the communications department of the Interior Ministry Artem Shevchenko.
“The crime was committed against a citizen of the Russian Federation, a foreigner who has been on the territory of the aggressor country more than once, and had contacts there a month before his death: and this, in our opinion, could also significantly affect the motive of this crime,” Shevchenko told reporters on July 16.
As reported, in the morning of July 20, 2016 in the center of Kyiv, the car of the head of online media outlet of Ukrayinska Pravda Olena Prytula was blown up, Sheremet was inside of it. The journalist died on the spot shortly after the explosion.
Three persons were suspected of killing Sheremet: military nurse Yana Duhar, volunteer and children’s vascular heart surgeon Yulia Kuzmenko, and musician and veteran of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Andriy Antonenko.
The pretrial investigation against the suspects was completed on May 22. Kuzmenko and Antonenko are under arrest. Regarding Yana Duhar, the court canceled the preventive measure in form of night house arrest.
