Several private bus companies in Ukraine's Lviv region refused to provide buses for taking activists to Kyiv for participating in a planned nationalist procession on October 14, said the party that has organized the event.
Several firms had earlier agreed to provide buses but refused later, pleading pressure from law enforcement and auditors, a statement from the regional branch of the Svoboda All-Ukrainian Union, organizer of the March of Fight, cited branch leader Iryna Sekh as saying.
“They are being blackmailed and threatened with the annulment of their licenses, and the carriers are afraid to risk. We urge law enforcers to stop trying to prevent the peaceful assembly in Kyiv. The march will go ahead in any case,” Sekh said.
The procession will mark the 70th foundation anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the military arm of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). The joint entity is known as OUN-UPA.
The marchers on October 14 demanded bringing back the posthumous title of Hero of Ukraine to Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, officially declaring OUN-UPA’s activities part of “the national liberation fight of the Ukrainian nation,” and formalizing October 14 as an official holiday.
