Dragunov sniper rifle
Oleh Tatarov, deputy chief of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Main Investigative Directorate under Yanukovych, claimed in January that "[t]he theory we are looking at is the killing was by unidentified persons. This is an official theory, and the unidentified persons could be various people, a whole host of them… It could have been motivated by disruptive behavior, or with the aim of provocation." He then claimed the cartridges and weapons used in the shootings were not police issue. Forensics experts found that protesters were killed with both buckshot and rifle bullets, while medics confirmed the bullet wounds to be from firearms such as the Dragunov sniper rifle (7.62×54mmR) and possibly 9×18mm Makarov cartridges.