Two Ukrainians Found Guilty of Fighting for Rebels in Chechen War

May 19, 2016

Two Ukrainian citizens, Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, have been found guilty by the Chechen Supreme Court of fighting for the rebels in the 1990s Chechen War, the Meduza news website reported, citing Ukrainian news service Radio Svoboda.

Klykh and Karpyuk are both charged with murder, attempted murder and being a member of an illegal armed group, according to Russia's Investigative Committee. Both men maintain their innocence and Klykh’s lawyers say their client has never been to the Russian republic of Chechnya. The men's sentences have not yet been announced.

Materials presented by the Russian Investigative Committee show that both Klykh and Karpyuk were members of the Ukrainian nationalist organization UNA-UNSO. According to investigators, the UNA-UNSO works for the “destruction of the Russian Federation and citizens of Russian nationality,” Meduza reported.

The nationalist umbrella organization Right Sector — an organization recognized as extremist in Russia and banned — consists of the groups UNA-UNSO, SNA, Ukrainian Patriot, White Hammer and Trizub, and is linked to soccer fan groups known as "ultras."

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