Lawyer of Russian national on trial in Ukraine found dead

Ukraine's chief military prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said on March 25 that Yuriy Hrabovskiy, who was declared missing early this month, had been shot dead. Matios said a suspect in the murder had been arrested in the Odesa region on Thursday, adding that another suspect was arrested about a week ago. Hrabovskiy was representing Aleksandr Aleksandrov, detained with another Russian citizen – Yevgeny Yerofeyev – in eastern Ukraine in May 2015. Aleksandrov and Yerofeyev are suspected of terrorist activities and fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s east. In a video published after their capture, both men said they were on active duty with the Russian military in eastern Ukraine when they were captured. Moscow contends they were no longer employed by the state. Matios said their trial will continue and will be brought to its end despite the killing of the lawyer. “A court hearing is scheduled for April 5. It will take place under any circumstances and all security mechanisms will be observed on the Russian citizens,” Matios told a briefing in Kyiv on Friday. Matios reiterated that Ukraine intends to ensure that the Ukrainian court give its decision and hand out its sentence to the Russians as soon as possible using procedural and lawful methods. Media reported earlier that the two officers could be exchanged for Ukrainian military pilot and MP Nadiya Savcehnko, who was recently sentenced to 22 years of prison in Russia. Her trial on murder charges has been internationally recognized as ungrounded and fabricated.