The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine believes that the Russian Investigative Committee's decision on bringing charges against soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine Vitaliy Markiv of murder and putting him on the international wanted list is insignificant, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said.

"The Investigative Committee of Russia is once again resorting to replacing law enforcement functions by fulfilling political orders. This also applies to the issue of using Interpol for politically motivated prosecutions," he told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will fulfill its functions and ensure the protection of the rights and interests of citizens of Ukraine.

As reported, Markiv was detained in Italy on June 30, 2017 on suspicion of the murder of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli near Sloviansk, Donetsk region in May 2014.

The Pavia prosecutor's office asked to sentence Markiv to 17 years in prison for assisting in the premeditated murder of Rocchelli.

On July 12, 2019, an Italian court sentenced Markiv to 24 years in prison, finding him guilty of facilitating the premeditated murder of Rocchelli. The decision was appealed, and on November 3, Milan Court of Appeal issued an acquittal in the Markiv case.

On November 4, he returned with representatives of the Ukrainian delegation to Ukraine.

On Friday, December 11, Basmanny Court of Moscow sanctioned the arrest of Markiv in absentia, whom Russian investigators put on the international wanted list on charges of murder.

The Russian Investigative Committee has charged the Ukrainian National Guard Vitaliy Markiv with the murder of a Russian citizen Andrei Mironov in Donbas.