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Kremlin: It's premature to comment on chief investigator's accusations against Ukraine PM

According to investigators, Arseniy Yatsenyuk took part in at least two armed clashes in the Chechen capital of Grozny

© Ilya Pitalev/TASS

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Russia's chief investigator accuses Ukrainian PM of fighting in Chechnya

MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/. Statements of the Russian Investigative Committees are never unsubstantiated, however, the Kremlin believes it’s premature to comment on any issues before the investigation is completed, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, commenting on the remarks of head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin about the participation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in the Chechen conflict against Russian troops.

"The investigative Committee is working, and such statements are never unfounded. However, it would be premature to make any comments before the Investigative Committee completes work and presents the appropriate solutions," Peskov said.

Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Russian Investigation Committee, said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta that the commitee has questions to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk who fought against the Russian troops in Chechnya in the mid-1990s.

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Bastrykin said that Arseniy Yatsenyuk was linked to crimes committed against Russian servicemen and Interior Ministry troops during the anti-terror operation in Chechnya in 1994-1995 along with Dmytro Korchynsky, Igor Mazur, Dmytro Yarosh, Valery Bobrovich, Oleh Tyahnybok and Andrey Tyahnybok as well as Vladimir Mamalyga.

"Investigators have established that Arseniy Yatsenyuk fought against Russian servicemen [in Chechnya] together with them during the same years as part of the Argo and later the Viking punitive battalions," Bastrykin told investigators.

"According to investigators, Arseniy Yatsenyuk took part in at least two armed clashes in the Chechen capital of Grozny: on Minutka Square on December 31, 1994 and near hospital No.9 in February 1995. He also tortured and executed captivated Russian servicemen in the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny on January 7, 1995," Bastrykin said.

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Dmitry Peskov Arseniy Yatsenyuk

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