A former senior figure in Ukraine's interior ministry has confessed to the murder in 2000 of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze and implicated high-ranking state officials, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported quoting authorities.
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Asked by reporters if the suspect, arrested on Tuesday, had confessed and if he implicated senior Ukrainian officials in the killing, Vassyl Grytsak, deputy head of the SBU domestic security agency, answered "yes" to both questions. "He confirmed his involvement in this crime," Grytsak said at a news conference to announce the arrest.
The suspect, Olexy Pukach, was a top Ukrainian interior ministry official at the time of Gongadze's murder. Footage presented as a videotape of Pukach's arrest was shown at the news conference.
In it, a corpulent, suntanned man with gray hair purported to be Pukach was apprehended by SBU agents and asked what his relationship was to the Gongadze case. He responded with one word: "Direct."Asked if Pukach had participated himself in the murder, Grytsak replied: "Yes." The suspect however did not immediately explain the motive of the killing and told the SBU agents that some of those behind the murder "are already dead" themselves.
