Ukrainian authorities have put the number of troops from the Berkut riot squad, which defected in 2014 to Russia and is participating in the war, at 20. This is a controversial police force continuously denounced for excessive use of force, torture and other violations.
Among them are several members of the so-called ‘Black Company’, led by commander Dimitro Sadovnik, which is accused of being responsible for nearly half a hundred deaths during the Euromaidan protests in February 2014.
According to the Ukrainian Intelligence services, since the Russian invasion nine months ago now, the authorities have been monitoring several of the former members of this police force and after that it has been established that at least twenty are fighting on the Russian side.
The Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation claims that Sadovnik and his men are hiding in territory controlled by Russian troops. «It is known that some of his subordinates are currently fighting against Ukraine.»
Ukraine’s deputy prosecutor general, Oleksi Khomenko, has charged that those who participated in the crackdown on the 2013 and 2014 protests «are now killing Ukrainian servicemen on the side of the enemy.»
In March 2014, Berkut units stationed in Crimea joined Russia, once the new Ukrainian authorities resolved to disband them for violations committed during those protests.
