Ukraine sends elite force to Odessa
The West has offered billions of dollars in loans to help Kyiv stave off economic collapse. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Ukraine expects to receive more than $5 billion in May, according to a government statement Monday. This includes $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund, $1 billion from the U.S. and up to 1 billion euros from the European Union.
The goal of the pro-Russia insurgency is ostensibly to push for broader autonomy in the east, but some do favor seceding from Ukraine and joining up with Russia.
In recent weeks, pro-Russia forces have stormed and seized government buildings and police stations in a dozen eastern cities. Kyiv accuses Moscow of backing the insurgents and fears Russia could use the violence as a pretext to invade. Tens of thousands of Russian troops have been deployed along Ukraine’s eastern border.
But even as violence spread across the east, Odessa had been largely tranquil until Friday, when pro-Ukrainian demonstrators fought back after being attacked by pro-Russian groups.
“We feel ourselves to be residents of a free city, Europeans,” said Denis Sukhomlinsky, a 34-year-old businessman who took part in the clashes. “We don’t need the Russian iron hand or the dictatorship of (President Vladimir) Putin.”
Pro-Russia activists, however, echo Putin in describing the region as historically part of Russia. Nearly 30 percent of Odessa’s residents identify themselves as Russian.
“We will not become the slaves of NATO and the European Union, and will fight to the end,” said Vyacheslav Khrutsky, 45.
Pro-Russia activists gathered at a funeral for a regional member of parliament, Vyacheslav Markin, who died two days after the fire from his burns. Markin was known for speaking out against the Kyiv government.
Activists shouted “Hero! Hero!” and vowed to avenge him.
The city remained calm, however, and Ukrainian flags flew all over the city — unlike in the east, where pro-Moscow groups have replaced them with the Russian tricolor.
The unrest in Odessa brought into question the loyalty of its police force. On Sunday, pro-Russian demonstrators stormed police headquarters and freed 67 people who had been detained in the rioting. Riot police simply stood by and did not interfere.
Presumably to prevent police from releasing more prisoners, the Interior Ministry said Monday that 42 others were being sent to another region for investigation.
The Interior Ministry also said it was sending an elite national guard unit from Kyiv to re-establish control in Odessa, and the well-armed officers were seen on patrol.
On the outskirts of Kyiv, checkpoints were set up Monday to control movement into the capital. Cars and buses with out-of-town license plates and other suspicious vehicles were stopped for inspection by police, working with the national guard and local volunteers.
Police Col. Serhiy Boiko said they were looking for weapons and explosives, but also for printed material that could be used to stir tensions.
The international community has accused Russia of fomenting the unrest in an attempt to destabilize Ukraine and derail the May 25 presidential elections.
On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a 70-page report listing what it describes as human rights violations by “ultranationalist, neo-Nazi and extremist forces” in Ukraine. The Kremlin wrote that the ministry report “confirms that … violations of basic human rights in Ukraine have become widespread.”