Ukraine has initiated a criminal case on terrorism against Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov in response to a recent video. On the recording, Porechenkov is seen shooting from a machine gun of the militia at Donetsk airport. Moreover, the actor was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet of journalists with a “Press” sign, RBC reports.
The area of the incident is still under fire from Ukrainian law enforcers and Donetsk militia. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that Porechenkov was directly involved in the shooting and may get 7-12 years in jail.
Pavel Gusev, the head of the Moscow Journalists' Union, condemned Porechenkov and said that one such act was a blow to years of efforts to protect journalists. “If tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, God forbid, our journalists will be killed or injured, let Porechenkov know that their blood is on his hands, and that he had no right to hold weapons in his hands,” said Gusev, Interfax reports.
Andrey Purgin, the vice prime minister of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” tried to exculpate the actor and called the video staged. In an interview with Echo of Moscow, Porechenkov himself said that he had put on the protection the militia had given him and he had not seen the labels.
