The deputy has openly sided with Putin's political operative Viktor Medvedchuk.
"Patriots for Life", a civic organization supervised by MP Ilya Kiva, which recently came into a spotlight as a result of two conflict episodes with a rivaling group, has reportedly been hiring men who had been part of Viktor Yanukovych's riot police during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014.
Oleh Martynenko, the organization's formal leader, also turned out to be a former Berkut officer, according to photo evidence posted on the OpustiVatu Telegram channel.
Martynenko also manages the Storm private security company owned by aides to Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life Party and crony of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It is he who is allegedly recruiting men into the ranks of Kiva's Patriots - For Life group.
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Another former Berkut riot police officer Oleksandr Vizyr has been exposed as part of Kiva's entourage. He joined Medvedchuk's security team after Berkut was disbanded in 2014. It was Vizyr who had organized the Patriots - For Life congress in Poltava, after which the van carrying the organization members was ambushed on August 27, reports claim.
Patriots for Life: background