Ukrainian media reveals identity of sabotage group’s leader killed in Kyiv raid

A suspected leader of a sabotage group killed in an anti-terror raid in Kyiv on Wednesday was a 50-year-old resident of Donetsk, known under an alias Oleh Muzhchyl or Serhiy Amirov, according to news portal news.liga.net.

He was reported to have been infiltrated into the Right Sector organization, but expelled some time later.

The Right Sector organization in turn announced that they severed relations with him way back in summer.

Ukrainian intelligence officers in turn claim that the killed suspect was a Russian FSB member. According to them, he repeatedly visited Russia, using three passports with different names.

"After the article was published, some online publications and social networks reported that the killed suspect was not a Russian infiltrator, on the contrary, he was a [Ukrainian] patriot, who has been eliminated by the special services. The Right Sector published a statement on this case [available on its official website]. Which of the theories is true is not known," news.liga.net wrote.

Ukraine's SBU Security Service neutralized a sabotage and reconnaissance group late on December 9, 2015, during a special anti-terror raid in Kyiv. The group was reported to have a network covering some Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv. A member of the group resisted arrest by opening fire from an assault rifle and wounded two Alpha special force officers. He was shot dead in response. Later, wounded Alfa officer Andriy Kuzmenko, who participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine, died from wounds.

SBU spokesperson Olena Gitlyanska said that three Russians and four Ukrainians were among the detained members of the subversive group, while the eighth, a citizen of Ukraine, was killed in the shootout during the raid.

The SBU reported about eight improvised explosive devices, four kilograms of TNT, assault rifles, more than 40 hand grenades, more than 2,000 bullets, and parts of explosive devices and weapons found in an apartment rented by the saboteurs.

SBU investigators opened a criminal case in keeping with Articles No. 258 and 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.