MMA fighter arrested in St. Petersburg for alleged murder in Ukraine 

The athlete had been placed on the international wanted list for alleged murder and vehicle theft. 

Vadim Olenchik, a Ukrainian MMA champion, was detained in St. Petersburg for the alleged murder of a man in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Interpol officers arrested Olenchik on January 30 on charges of murder and vehicle theft. The Ukrainian fighter had been placed on the international wanted list since 2017 and will be extradited back to Ukraine to face trial.

”By a resolution of the Solomenskiy district court in Kiev on January 31, the prisoner chose a preventive measure in the form of detention” said Nadezhda Maksimets, a spokesperson at the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office.”Now after deciding on his detention, we prepare documents for his extradition to Ukraine.”

According to reports, Olenchik strangled a Russian man with a towel at a nightclub in Kyiv and robbed him of his money, telephone, and vehicle. According to Maksimets, “The deceased worked as the CFO of a pharmaceutical company. When he did not come to work, his colleagues went to his home, broke the door and found the body.”

Olenchik held a 3-0 amateur MMA record, which included a tournament victory at the 2017 Bukovel Cup. He is also a five-time Ukrainian champion in Thai boxing and also took part in kickboxing tournaments.