The United States supports the stance that the use of force and weapons is the sole prerogative of the Ukrainian government and law enforcement agencies, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said regarding the events in Zakarpattia Oblast.
The U.S. supports the stance stipulated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Zakarpattia regional head Hennadiy Moskal that the use of force and weapons is the sole prerogative of the Ukrainian government and law enforcement agencies, Pyatt said following a meeting with Moskal in Uzhgorod on July 21.
This is the official position of the U.S., the ambassador said.
According to the official website of Moskal, Pyatt said that the issue of what else to do with these groups is completely in the hands of the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian law enforcement authorities.
Events in eastern Ukraine and investment opportunities in Zakarpattia Oblast were also discussed during the meeting.
It has been reported that a shootout – involving people close to Deputy Mykhailo Lanio, local police and members of the extremist organization Right Sector banned in Russia – occurred in Mukacheve on July 11. According to various reports, as a result of the shootout up to five people died and up to 14 were injured.
According to the Right Sector version, the shootout was provoked by criminal elements headed by Lanio, to whom a contraband channel was closed.
At the same time, some mass media outlets reported that the reason behind the conflict was the division of spheres of influence in the protection of contraband flows to the region, in particular cigarettes. According to one version, Right Sector decided to pressure Lanio’s group. Meanwhile, another version states that Right Sector was acting with the same intentions but in the interests of parliamentarian Viktor Baloha.
The actions of Zakarpattia’s Rights Sector representatives, who held the shootout in Mukacheve, are qualified as banditry and 13 people aged between 18 and 39 are suspected, Moskal said on July 21.
