Kyiv: 25 Italian citizens fought against Ukraine in the Donbas
The Verkhovna Rada has prepared a list of 25 Italian citizens who fought against Ukraine in the Donbas, stated an MP of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction, Andriy Antonischak in comments to Ukrainian news outlet LB.ua.
"A group of MPs sent an enquiry to the Military Prosecutor's offices and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). We received a list with data including mobile phone numbers of 25 Italians, who have been taking part in the war against our state in the Donbas," he said, showing the lists.
According to him, the Prosecutor General's office (PGO) of Ukraine should appeal to the Prosecutor's office of Italy for a rapid response to the crimes of the citizens who participated in hostilities as members of the Vostok (East) and Prizrak (Ghost) militia battalions.
"According to our information, these Italian citizens could be involved in the deaths of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen. So we handed over all the documents and appealed to the PGO, the Interior Ministry, and SBU to enter data in the Unified Register of pre-judicial investigation under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," he said.
Antonischak added that there was no response from the Italian Ambassador in Ukraine, who also received copies of these documents.
"Therefore, on behalf of Parliament, we ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to give the Italian Ambassador to Ukraine a note of protest in connection with the participation of Italian citizens in the war against Ukraine,” he said.
In May 2014, a soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine, Vitalii Markiv was arrested in Italy for the alleged murder of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli near Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. The case is being investigated by the Prosecutor's Office of the city of Pavia.
The main witness is a French journalist who pointed out that Rocchelli was killed with weapons used by a unit of the National Guard in which Markiv served. However, according to the Ukrainian investigation, the death of two journalists occurred as a result of shelling by the pro-Russian forces.