KIEV
Olexander Muzychko, a leader of the far-right group Right Sector, has been found shot dead in the western Rivne region of Ukraine the group have said.
Yaroslav Granitskiy, a Right Sector member, has said that Muzychko, also known as "Sashko Bily", was found in dead outside a restaurant after apparently being shot twice in the heart on Monday night. The Rovenskiy Provincial Police have confirmed his death.
Muzychko was at the heart of the radical groups that attended the anti-government protests in Kiev last year that led to the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych. During the protests he was reported to have broken into state buildings brandishing a Kalashnikov.
Muzychko was given the nickname "Sashko Bily" by Chechen fighters he fought alongside in the 1990s and was given "folk hero" status by the then Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev.
On March 7, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal inquiry against Muzychko, who was suspected of committing crimes against Russian federal forces during his time in Chechnya.
A court in Russia's southern city of Yessentuki had ordered Muzychko be remanded into custody in absentia on March 12.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
