MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI) – Russia’s Investigative Committee has requested a court warrant for the arrest of Dnipropetrovsk Governor Ihor Kolomoisky and plans to file for the arrest of Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told journalists on Thursday.

The committee earlier opened a criminal case against these Ukrainian officials under Russian articles on “the masterminding of murder, the use of prohibited methods and means of warfare, abduction, and the hindering of the legitimate activities of journalists.”

Kolomoisky and Avakov have been put on the international wanted list. Many media outlets believe that Kolomoisky was one of the sponsors of the Maidan protests in Kiev.

The Kiev government launched a military operation in mid-April to suppress the anti-Maidan movement in eastern Ukraine, which did not recognize the legitimacy of the February coup in Kiev. Moscow urged Kiev to stop the “punitive military operation,” which has claimed many lives on both sides, including innocent civilians.