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September 22, 18:20
Pavel Sheremet was assassinated more than four years ago (Photo: Sergiy Nuzhnenko / RFE / RL)
In the case of the murder of Pavel Sheremet, a version unknown to the public previously appeared, but was not given a motion, according to the results of its own investigation, the Zaborona publication.
«After having access to part of the case file, we discovered another hitherto unknown version of Sheremet’s murder, in which the alleged organizer is named. It has nothing to do with the ATO volunteers. [нынешние подозреваемые в исполнении убийства]But he is closely associated with the former leadership of Ukraine that fled to Moscow. And the reason does not coincide with the one announced by the police this winter, ”Zaborona writes in the first part of the investigation, which was made public on June 22.
Mariupol witness
The publication says that in early August 2016, less than a month after Pavel Sheremet’s murder, Marina Matsyuk, a forced migrant who had moved from Donetsk to Mariupol after the outbreak of the war, went to the headquarters of the National Police in Kiev.
He said that his old acquaintance Maxim Zotov, a day or two after the journalist’s death, confessed to him that he had committed this crime.… Matsyuk and Zotov had known each other for more than 10 years and also lived nearby in Donetsk, as the Zaborona journalists discovered.
«Zotov asked him if he saw how he “killed Sheremet”. She replied that she “did not believe him”, the authors of the investigation relate the protocol of Matsyuk’s testimony to the Kiev police. (document made public in the investigation). – At this, Zotov said that “I should be proud of him” and, according to her, showed a photograph on the phone, in which two girls were captured. Zotov said he was with one of them when the Sheremet car explosion occurred. I didn’t say with whom exactly ”.
Later, according to Matsyuk, Zotov regretted telling him about his involvement in the murder., asked not to talk about it in Kiev, tried to threaten and allegedly offered $ 50 thousand for silence, which the woman refused.
She calculated the age of her friend in 2016 between 50 and 51 years.
The witness also said that Zotov’s physique appeared to her similar to the complexion of a probable person involved in a crime who placed explosives under Sheremet’s car, when she saw the corresponding video. on TV. These The images are now attached to the Sheremet case: the investigation believes that the musician Andrei Antonenko and the doctor Yulia Kuzmenko may be captured in them.
«Despite the strong and fairly detailed statement, the investigators did not take notice of Marina Matsyuk’s testimony and did not investigate further, ”says Zaborona.
Who is Maxim Zotov and how is he related to the former fugitive minister of the Yanukovych era, Alexander Klimenko?
Journalists from the publication tried to find out how Zotov may have been involved in the assassination attempt on Pavel Sheremet.
They say that Maxim zotov «is the founder and owner of the SportMAX sports club network in Donetsk “… The network was perhaps the most popular in Donetsk and played an important role in the sports infrastructure of the city.
The phone to which the company was registered coincided with the number to which two Anton Klimenko companies were registered (brother of the former head of the Ministry of Revenue and Duties Alexander Klimenko, who died in 2015) – Unison Cinema and Unison Group.
And the general director of the SportMAX network, as Zaborona writes, was called Alexander Epel, the brother of Mikhail Epel, the father of Maxim Zotov’s wife. (Olga Epel).
«Epeli is an influential business clan from Donetsk, the research authors write. – At the time Viktor Yanukovych became President of Ukraine in 2010, the Epel family had friendly relations with many Donetsk businessmen, who came from the Industrial Union of Donbass group. (ISD) and with the Klimenko brothers ”.
In his research, Zaborona talks in detail about these business ties and posts several photos of Maxim Zotov found on social media.
Click on the chart to enlarge:
What connected Sheremet and Klimenko
A separate part of the investigation is devoted to the business ties of Pavel Sheremet, who worked for Radio Vesti, and the journalist’s actual employer, the owner of this radio station, Alexander Klimenko, who fled to Moscow.
Zaborona recalls that shortly before his death, Sheremet traveled to Moscow, where the journalist’s family lived: his children and his ex-wife.
«However, there was another goal [поездки 10 июля 2016 года], who told his daughter in passing: Sheremet was in a hurry to meet with the “fugitive oligarch,” as he called Alexander Klimenko, “the authors of the investigation write.
And the ex-wife of journalist Natalia Sheremet, and Ukrainian Truth co-founder Alena Pritula (it was in his car that the journalist was blown up) he told Zaborona that Pavel Shermet traveled to Moscow to arrange with Klimenko the appointment as editor-in-chief of Vesti.
Pritule Sheremet said she wanted «understand Klimenko’s mindset ”and assess what the future of his editorial office can expect. According to her, Klimenko himself wanted to talk to Sheremet about whether the journalist could help him find a way to return to Kiev.
«Sheremet really had the ambition to head Vesti. Pritula knew about this, and her friend and colleague on radio Saken Aimurzaev, and his ex-wife Natalya. All three confirm that Pavel was ready to work in the media, which were the property of the fugitive minister, as long as they did not interfere with editorial policy, ”Zaborona writes.
However, Sheremet returned from Moscow disappointed, family and friends say, complaining about Klimenko’s “brains orthodoxy.”
«Pasha understood that her days on the radio were numbered, says Pritula. “She realized that her concept did not interest anyone, that things were moving towards restricting freedoms in radio, which, in principle, happened.”
In early July 2016, Radio Vesti staff signed an open letter with a request to fire the new editor-in-chief Irina Gavrilova, as she spoke offensively about the Maidan participants and the war volunteers in Donbass . Shortly after, Gavrilova was fired.
On July 20, Pavel Sheremet was killed when he went to his morning broadcast on Radio Vesti early in the morning: a homemade bomb exploded in his car.
«For unknown reasons, the investigation did not follow through on the version we discovered.despite the presence of specific testimonies and the obvious political benefit of such a turn in the Sheremet case for the Ukrainian leadership. At the same time, there are many indications that these accusations could have been deliberate slander. In this case, the investigation into the origin of the clause could lead to the trail of real killers. However, this possibility probably did not interest the investigation either, ”concludes Zaborona.
The publication also promises to publish the second part of the investigation, which reveals Pavel Sheremet’s relationship with the military prosecutor Anatoly Matios. «and the political context during the period of the assassination, which will clarify a lot.
In May 2020, the police announced the completion of a pre-trial investigation into three suspects in the murder of Pavel Sheremet: Andrei Antonenko, Yulia Kuzmenko and Yana Dugar.
They are charged with murder for prior conspiracy.
The investigation insists that Antonenko and Kuzmenko are «performers ”, and Dugar – accomplice.
In addition, the case also includes «unidentified persons “who are the organizers of the crime. According to them, the materials were assigned to a separate production.
Antonenko was initially accused of organizing the murder.
