Several thousand anti-government protesters clashed with police and “titushki” – government-hired thugs – in eastern Ukrainian cities Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhya to violently suppress protests on Jan. 26.
Dozens of protesters were injured and arrested. In Zaporizhya, protesters were attempting to seize the region’s government’s headquarters. In Dnipropetrovsk, protesters merely were picketing outside their oblast government headquarters.
“It’s not even an assumption, they surely acted together,” said journalist Taras Bilka from Zaporizhya.
In Zaporizhya, a weekly Sunday rally resulted in a short attempt to seize the governor’s office and a regional council. Police reacted with tear gas and stun grenades.
After the attempted seizure failed, the crowd of around 600 people set up a camp next to the building to continue the protest. Around 9 p.m., some 250 riot police officers attacked the protesters. According to Bilka, around 300 “titushki” armed with bats came out of the regional council building immediately and followed police steps, beating the protesters even more.
“They chased people through the neighborhood and beat everyone they found,” says Bilka.
Protesters say the hired thugs were sent to the governor’s office building in advance.
A similar scenario happened in Dnipropetrovsk.
When around 2,000 people approached the governor’s office to protest next to it, around 100 men hurled stones at them from inside the office’s courtyard, provoking them. Police officers stood inside the courtyard, watching the scene, and did nothing. Photos show police officers standing shoulder to shoulder with the “titushki,” all armed with identical wooden bats and carrying yellow ribbons on the elbows.
“There were no actions (from the protesters’ side), but suddenly the police poured water from the hose on people, and it irritated everyone,” said protester Sergey Gorobets.
Angered by the presence of the hired thugs, protesters got aggressive and entered the courtyard of the governor’s office, but were soon attacked by both “titushki” and police. The protesters fled the scene.
At least two protesters were injured with rubber bullets that are believed to be shot by the hired thugs. Dnipropetrovsk police claims no weapons were used against protesters. The total number of injured protesters is 23, according to police. Five of them were hospitalized.
“I just don’t understand how hooligans can attack people and be under police protection while doing it,” Gorobets said. “I saw a man who climbed the pile of snow and hurled stones into protesters, while police backed him up with a hose. After that, how can a dialogue happen?”
Dnipropetrovsk regional police department couldn’t provide comments on the alleged cooperation between officers and the hired thugs.
Meanwhile, a leaked YouTube video shows provocateurs with bats walking the main hall of the governor’s office. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRtBJNYwUIw
“Most of the beatings were done by provocateurs, while police were pushing people back and so on,” says another participant, Pavlo Petrenko, from Dnipropetrovsk.
Thirty seven protesters were reported to be detained at the protest in Dnipropetrovsk, 15 of them were arrested. No arrests reported in Zaporizhya.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast governor Dmytro Kolesnikov reacted with an official statement, saying nothing about “titushki” but promising “a vigorous response to the out-of-town extremists who try to destabilize the situation in the region.”
Journalist Maxim Scherbina from Zaporizhya says that the idea of aggressive extremists coming to the city to start riots was promoted through the local media and social networks in his city since Jan. 24.
“They tried to heat up the situation, to set such a mood,” said Scherbina.
“It’s lawlessness,” said Petrenko from Dnipropetrovsk. “And the sides have unequal forces so far. There were 1,000 or 2,000 people at the protest (in Dnipropetrovsk). Provocateurs and police will continue beatings. But if at least 5,000 people go to the street, it can change the situation. I don’t think (the protest) will wind down now (in Dnipropetrovsk).”
Kyiv Post lifestyle editor Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected]
