Ukraine probes this week’s nationalist riots in downtown Kyiv World October 17 … – ITAR
KYIV, October 17. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched an investigation into mass riots on October 14 near the parliament building in downtown Kyiv, organized by far-right nationalists, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Friday.
Some 8,000 people took part in a nationalist rally resulting in clashes with the police in Ukrainian capital. The Interior Ministry later said 15 policemen were injured and 50 rioters were detained.
The riots started after the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, refused to put on its agenda a bill recognizing the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA) as a party fighting for Ukraine’s independence during WWII.
After that, a group of masked young men with flags of the radical nationalist party Svoboda /Freedom/ threw smoke and sound bombs, explosive devices at police on duty at the building.
“This case is being investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office. But I can now say who was near the parliament. These were the gunmen who are part of the Brotherhood unit and gunmen identifying themselves with a party of Mr. [Oleh] Lyashko. These guys were played foul, they were paid, motivated and they went to fight,” Avakov told the 1+1 TV channel.
Sociologists say at the early parliamentary in Ukraine on October 26, the Radical party led by Lyashko may win some 6% of the vote while the nationalist Svoboda party of Oleh Tyahnybok may get less than 5%