Ukrainian investigators have formally identified senior Russian officials as suspects in the deadly crackdown on EuroMaidan demonstrators in 2014, The Kyiv Independent reported. On Sept. 10, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced that Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), and Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Russia’s minister of internal affairs, along with their subordinates, were directly implicated in the violence.

According to the SBI, the Russian officials personally traveled to Kyiv during the height of the protests. They were said to have visited central districts, including Independence Square, in order to assess the situation firsthand. Following their inspections, they allegedly coordinated and refined plans for dispersing the demonstrations through force.

The EuroMaidan movement, which began in late 2013, was triggered by then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to abandon a planned association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer alignment with Moscow. The protests escalated into 2014, drawing hundreds of thousands, at times nearly a million people, who opposed Yanukovych’s pro-Russian agenda and the increasing curtailment of civil freedoms.

The SBI reported that Russian representatives illegally supplied Ukrainian security forces with weapons designed for dispersal. These included Drife-2 gas grenades, Zarya-2 and Torch-C stun grenades, Flame-M devices, as well as smoke grenades. The shipments were intended to suppress the mass gatherings through intimidation and physical harm.

Beyond the provision of equipment, the Russian officials also recommended bringing in reinforcements. Their plan called for the deployment of additional units of Berkut riot police and internal troops. Investigators say a reserve command center was set up in Kyiv, on their advice, to better coordinate operations against the demonstrators.

The crackdown reached its peak in February 2014. Between Feb. 18 and 19, the dispersal plan was executed under the pretext of an anti-terrorist operation. Thirteen protesters were killed in those two days, while more than 250 others were injured.

After the EuroMaidan protests came to an end and Yanukovych fled Ukraine, Russian authorities allegedly shielded members of the Ukrainian security forces who had carried out the violent suppression. These individuals were granted Russian passports and positions in state institutions, protecting them from accountability in Ukraine.

The findings reinforce longstanding accusations that Moscow not only backed Yanukovych politically but also played a direct role in orchestrating and enabling the lethal crackdown that became a defining moment in Ukraine’s modern history.