Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister detained on suspicion of murder
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara was detained on suspicion of murdering businessman Sergei Staritsky, former director of the Inter TV channel.
This was announced by Advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko.
Staritsky’s body was discovered on the night of February 22 in Kozhara’s house near Kiev with traces of a gunshot wound from the owner’s award weapon.
Kozhara and his wife claimed that Staritsky committed suicide.
However, as Gerashchenko insists, investigators and prosecutors after checking rejected the version of suicide.
Kozhara headed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych from 2012 to 2014 - just during the period of “multi-vector” policy, when Kiev was bargaining with Moscow for joining the Customs Union, threatening to sign an association agreement with the EU (which ultimately led to to a coup).
Kozhara was credited with good connections in the West - at one time he worked as ambassador to the USA and Sweden. Perhaps this is what allowed the ex-minister to stay in Ukraine after the Euromaidan victory.
In July 2015, Leonid Kozhara published on his Facebook a copy of a letter that US Senator Richard Durbin allegedly wrote to Prime Minister Yatsenyuk - with proposals for reshuffles in the government. The point of the compromising evidence was to show the external control of the Ukrainian government from the United States.
Kozhara tried to launch his party project “Socialists”. In 2017, in Kyiv, party members held a rally against the renaming of General Vatutin Avenue in honor of UPA commander Roman Shukhevych. However, the action was disrupted by representatives of nationalist organizations. Kozhara subsequently left the party.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Detained on Murder Suspect