Prosecutors have submitted to the court the case against the "Berkut" officers who were the first to open fire on Maidan activists.

The Office of the Prosecutor General has submitted an indictment to the court regarding former special forces members of the “Berkut” unit, who were the first to fire at protesters on February 20, 2014, in Kyiv during the Revolution of Dignity. This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

"Prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General have sent an indictment to the court against the former commander of the special unit 'Berkut' of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Sevastopol and two policemen from this unit in the case of mass murders of activists on February 20, 2014, on Instytutska Street in Kyiv," the statement reads.

The OGP clarified that on February 20, 2014, around 9:00 AM, the commander of the special unit 'Berkut' and his subordinates were on Instytutska Street in Kyiv near the pedestrian bridge and acted in coordination with law enforcement officers from other units, particularly the special company of Kyiv's 'Berkut'.

"They unlawfully used firearms against the participants of the protests — Fort-500 pump-action shotguns loaded with lead shot cartridges. As a result, three protesters were killed, and another three sustained gunshot wounds of varying severity," the prosecution noted.

They explained that these initial shots preceded further mass intentional killings and injuries of protest participants carried out by 'Berkut' special forces using rifled service automatic and sniper firearms.

The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized that after these events, the accused returned to Sevastopol, where they later sided with the Russian Federation and facilitated the annexation of Crimea.

The law enforcement agency also reminded that on February 20, 2014, a total of 48 protesters were killed in central Kyiv, and more than 90 sustained gunshot wounds.

"For these crimes, 38 individuals have been held criminally liable, including 4 officials and 34 law enforcement officers, with indictments against them submitted to the court. Among them, 4 'Berkut' special police unit members have been convicted, while proceedings against others are ongoing," the OGP noted.

It should be recalled that on June 19, the SBI identified law enforcement officers who fired the first shots on Maidan.

In April 2024, media reported that SBU General Ilya Vityuk from the 'Berkut' was filming the shooting of protesters on Maidan.