Chechnya's court sentences Ukrainian nationalists Karpiuk, Klykh to 22.5 and 20 years in prison
PYATIGORSK. May 26 (Interfax) - The Chechen Supreme Court pronounced a verdict against Ukrainian nationalists Mykola Karpiuk and Stanyslav Klykh, who are accused of involvement in the hostilities in the republic in the 1990s, and the killing of Russian servicemen, the court press service told Interfax on Thursday.
"Karpiuk has been sentenced to 22.5 years [in a penitentiary], Klykh - to 20 years," a court representative said.
Karpiuk will serve the first 10 years in prison, Klykh - first nine years, then both - at a high-security penal colony.
Members of the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian People's Self-Defense (UNA-UNSO) nationalistic organization (banned by court in Russia) Karpiuk and Klykh are accused of leadership and involvement in a gang, the killing of two and more persons due to their performance of their service duty and the attempted killing of two or more people due to their performance of their service duty.
According to the investigation's theory, the paramilitary far-right political organization UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), which professes the nationalistic ideology, has been set up in Ukraine in the early 1990s. In particular, it included Ukrainian citizens Karpiuk, Klykh, Oleksandr Malofeyev and Oleksandr Muzychko.
In 1994, Karpiuk and Muzychko actively took part in the creation of stable armed groups of the most radically driven UNA-UNSO members for their further involvement in an armed conflict in Russia, on the side of the self-proclaimed Republic of Ichkeria.
Karpiuk, together with Muzychko, led the "Viking" gang, which also included several UNA-UNSO members, in particular, Dmitro Yarosh, Yury Dolzhenko, Malofeyev, Klykh.
From December 1994 until January 1995, Karpiuk, Klykh, Malofeyev, together with other members of the gang, were actively involved in the hostilities with Russian servicemen in Grozny.
After the breakup of the gang, the defendants returned to Ukraine. However, in 2014, they came to Russia, where they were detained.
A criminal case against Malofeyev was singled out in a separate case, as a pre-trial agreement on cooperation had been struck. Malofeyev was sentenced to 24.5 years in a high-security penal colony under the court verdict.