Two Kyiv regional police officers arrested in killing of boy

Two police officers were placed under two-month arrest
by a Kyiv court on June 4 in the shooting of a 5-year-old boy in the yard of
his home. The boy died in a Kyiv hospital on June 3, three days after the
shooting incident in a town in the Kyiv region. Witnesses said the officers
were off-duty and drunk when they were shooting their rifles for target
practice, causing a bullet to fly into a neighboring yard and strike the boy in
the head. If convicted, the officers could be penalized with up to life
imprisonment, the regional prosecutor’s office said on its website. On June 4,
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and National Police Chief Serhiy Kniazev met
with the victim’s mother and grandmother, assuring them that they will closely
cooperate with investigators and prosecutors with the goal of reaching an adequate
punishment, the ministry said in its website.

The killing sparked mass protests outside the Interior
Ministry headquarters after doctors couldn’t recue his life. The protests
spread yesterday to a dozen cities, led by the Western-financed Anti-Corruption
Action Centre, which has led a campaign for more than a year calling for the
resignation of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. In June 4, the Kyiv regional
police chief, Dmytro Tsenov, submitted his resignation and accepting
responsibility for his subordinates’ conduct.

Zenon Zawada: This
tragedy could offer some indication to what extent President Zelensky is
beholden to his campaign sponsor, Ihor Kolomoisky. In interviews in recent
months, Kolomoisky has touted Avakov as the only Cabinet minister
who performed well and deserves to remain in his post. Meanwhile, Avakov has
made enough enemies among the public, and especially the Western NGOs, for his
alleged corruption that this incident – which he is not responsible for – will
be used as a further argument to remove him.

Public pressure will mount on Zelensky to call for
Avakov’s ouster, which he has yet to do. That doesn’t necessarily indicate
Kolomosky’s influence. But if Avakov remains in the Cabinet after the new
government is formed, we believe that would be a solid indicator that
Kolomoisky has strong influence over Zelensky.