Former law enforcement officers from Belarus who left the country due to the regime of self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko believe, based on testimony from sources, that Lukashenko may have been involved in the murder of Ukrainska Pravda journalist Pavlo Sheremet.
Source: an investigation by the Association of Security Forces of Belarus, also known as BYPOL
Quote: “A couple of months ago, our source contacted us – a former security service officer whom we trust. The source said that Pavlo Sheremet was killed on the orders of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and that officers from the KGB’s Alpha special unit were responsible.”
Details: BYPOL stated Sheremet was considered a personal enemy of Lukashenko.
Their animosity began in 1997 when Sheremet reported on smuggling and lack of border security along the Belarus-Lithuania border.
The source provided exclusive information suggesting involvement of the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB) special forces in the case.
One alleged perpetrator is Viachaslav Sydorakin, previously mentioned in the documentary Operation Mankurty. Part 2. Sydorakin helped a KGB officer flee Belarus with classified archives.
*Viachaslav Sydorakin.*Screenshot: documentary
The investigation also mentions Yuriy Harkach, another member of the KGB’s Alpha unit, who was sentenced in 2022 to four years in prison for illegal activities involving weapons.
In spring 2012, KGB Chairman Vadim Zaitsev appointed Harkach as his aide for special missions. Harkach reported directly to Zaitsev, was given a BMW X5 from the Alpha unit garage and had an office with access to the central KGB operational database.
*Yuriy Harkach.*Screenshot: documentary
Within the Alpha base, Harkach formed a special unit for Zaitsev’s secret missions. Sydorakin was reportedly recruited into this unit, along with Alpha’s sniper Alexander Zaitsev, the KGB chief’s son.
*Alexander Zaitsev.*Screenshot: documentary
The group conducted missions abroad funded by the KGB’s First Directorate of Foreign Intelligence. Legal support for Harkach’s operations was provided by trusted KGB investigator Ivan Sanko, who had close ties to Vadim Zaitsev.
*Ivan Sanko.*Screenshot: documentary
In May or June 2012, Zaitsev gave Harkach US$15,000 in cash for a mission to Moscow involving five operatives. The group returned in a few days, possibly after a reconnaissance mission on Sheremet, who lived both in Russia and Ukraine between 2012 and 2015.
Harkach travelled to Ukraine from 30 August to 13 September 2013; Sanko visited from 20 August to 2 September 2012 and again from 4 to 15 August 2013; while Zaitsev was in Ukraine from 4 to 27 July 2012 and from 29 September to 3 October 2013. Sydorakin visited three times in 2016: 13-17 March, 13-17 April, and 9-12 June.
BYPOL emphasised that the man spotted near Sheremet’s car on the night of the murder closely resembled Sydorakin. The woman next to him resembled Tatyana Kozlova, a member of the Belarusian Interior Ministry’s special unit Almaz since 2000. Although Kozlova has not officially crossed the Ukrainian border since 2012, her presence is suspected.
For reference: BYPOL – an initiative composed of former Belarusian police officers who oppose the Lukashenko regime – relies on witness testimony, documents and open sources in its investigations.
Background:
Pavlo Sheremet, a senior journalist at Ukrainska Pravda, was killed on the morning of 20 July 2016 in a car blast.In 2017, journalists published their own investigation revealing suspicious vehicles near Sheremet’s home the night the bomb was planted. One vehicle was driven by Ihor Ustymenko, a former officer of Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU). Additionally, SSU operatives reportedly erased footage from a surveillance server near Sheremet’s building.The masterminds behind the murder have not been named. That part of the investigation remains separate and ongoing.
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