Vitalii Markiv

Vitalii Mykhailovych Markiv (Ukrainian: Віталій Михайлович Марків, born August 16, 1989, Khorostkiv) is a former Ukrainian soldier of the General Serhiy Kulchytsky Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine. He was convicted by an Italian court to 24 years of imprisonment for allegedly directing a mortar fire that killed Russian dissident and journalist Andrei Mironov and Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli near the city of Sloviansk.[1]

Vitalii Markiv
Born
Vitalii Mykhaylovych Markiv

(1989-08-16)August 16, 1989 (30 years)
Khorostkiv,  Ukraine
OccupationSocial Activist, Military personnel

Early life

Vitalii Markiv was born on August 16, 1989 in the city of Khorostkiv of Ternopil region in West Ukraine. At the age of 16 he moved to Italy with his sister and gained Italian citizenship.[2] He returned to Ukraine at the end of 2013 to take part in the demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine called Euromaidan.

Participation in the war in Donbass

In 2014 Markiv joined the National Guard of Ukraine and took part in the Battles for Sloviansk. He is a deputy platoon commander in the General Serhiy Kulchytsky Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine.[3]

Imprisonment in Italy

Markiv is а suspect in the killing Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli near the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk region, in May 2014 and was arrested in Italy, June 30, 2017.[4] He is currently in prison in Pavia.

According to the Ukrainian investigation, the journalists were killed in a shelling conducted by the "Russian-backed terrorist forces".[5]

On July 12, a court in the Italian city of Pavia sentenced Markiv to 24 years in prison for involvement in the death of Italian photo reporter Andrea Rocchelli in the Donbass region in May 2014.[6]

Reaction in Ukraine and abroad

Journalist Paul Gogo, who worked in Slavyansk during the time of shelling, described the decision of the court as "mind-blowing"[7] and such as based on false testimonies. According to Paul Gogo the Italian court proceeding was politicized and investigation wasn't done properly.[8][9]

The Advisor to the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, People's Deputy from the People's Front faction, Anton Gerashchenko said the detention in Italy of Markiv, a soldier of a battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine, on suspicion of murdering an Italian photojournalist might be another provocation by the Russian special services.[10]
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine expressed concern about the arrest of Vitaly Markiv.[11] As per ex-chief prosecutor of Ukraine Evgeniy Enin Ukrainian prosecution for three years tried to persuade Italian prosecution to visit the place of death to conduct the thorough examination, however Italian prosecution denied such proposal. According to the Ukrainian prosecution Markiv wasn't able to see or identify Rocchelli from his position.[12][13]

On July 4, 2017 Ukrainian activists organized a protest action against the detention Vitalii Markiv near the Embassy of Italy in Kyiv.[14]

On July 25, 2019, During the phone conversation with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte Ukrainian President Zelenskiy stressed an importance of unbiased investigation of the Andrea Rocchelli death and offered legal assistance from Ukraine in conducting a thorough joint examination of the circumstances of Rocchelli's death.[15]

The conviction of Markiv by Italian court was compared with conviction of Nadiya Savchenko by Russian court, also for allegedly directing mortar fire that killed journalists.[1]

References
  1. Дмитрий Борко (2019-07-16). "Приговор по наводке". Грани.ру (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  2. "Who killed Andrea Rocchelli?". EuroNews. 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  3. "Task of PGO in Markiv case is to protect his legal interests in court - Yenin". InterFax. 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  4. "Ex-Ukrainian servicemen, suspect of killing Italian photographer near Sloviansk in 2014, detained in Italy". InterFax. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  5. "Ukrainian serviceman, suspect of killing Italian photographer near Sloviansk, detained in Italy". UNIAN. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  6. "Суд над украинским неонацистом сочли результатом российской спецоперации". Lenta.ru (in Russian). 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  7. @Paugog (2019-07-13). "Une décision assez hallucinante de la justice italienne" (Tweet) (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-17 – via Twitter.
  8. "French journalist calls Markiv sentence "mind-blowing" & is willing to testify". Euromaidan Press. 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  9. "French journalist ready to testify in Ukrainian guardsman Markiv's case in Italy". UNIAN. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  10. "Ukrainian diplomats closely following the case of detained Ukrainian soldier in Italy". UAWIRE. 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  11. "The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is concerned over the detention of the Ukrainian military in Italy". Front News International. 2017-07-02. Archived from the original on 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  12. "Посол Украины в Италии о деле Маркива: Это была спецоперация России против нас". Сегодня (in Russian). 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  13. "Дело Маркива: итальянцы не хотели провести следственный эксперимент в Украине, - Енин". Еспресо (in Russian). 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  14. "Підтримати побратима гвардійці прийшли до посольства Італії". National Guard of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  15. "Zelensky discusses with Italian PM case of National Guard Vitaly Markiv". UNIAN. 2019-07-25. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
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