The death toll of the Aug. 31 grenade attack near the parliament building has now risen to three, with another two National Guard soldiers dying of their injuries in hospital on Sept. 1
The Interior Ministry identified one of the victims as
Dmitry Slatnikov in a statement on its website. The first victim, 25-year-old
Ihor Derbin, died hours after violence erupted outside Parliament in the wake
of lawmakers’ approving a bill that opponents have said will allow Russian-occupied
territories in the east of Ukraine more autonomy.
The third victim, 20-year-old guardsman Oleksandr
Kostyn from Ukraine’s southern Kherson Oblast, died from a serious brain injury
resulting from the grenade blast, lawmaker and presidential aide Olha Bohomolets
said in a post on Facebook.
Protesters from the ultranationalist Right Sector organization
and the Svoboda (Freedom) party turned against riot police during the protest
against the bill, throwing sticks, smoke bombs and tear gas canisters and beating
police officers with sticks and truncheons. The violence climaxed with one
protester hurling a live grenade at National Guard servicemen, causing more
than 100 injuries and the three deaths so far.
A total of 132 servicemen and 10 civilians were
wounded in the attack, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Artyom
Shevchenko, who commented on Facebook.
Eighteen people have been detained in connection with
the riots, including Ihor Humenyuk, the man suspected of throwing the grenade
that claimed the lives of the National Guardsmen.
President Petro Poroshenko implied that the chain of
suspects goes much higher, however, saying that while the “executors” had been
detained, “the organizers who gave out baseball bats and provided weapons will
also be found,” news portal Ukrinform.ua reported. Only two deaths had
been confirmed at the time Poroshenko spoke.
Porohsenko also lamented that “war had come to Kyiv” and promised
that all those injured in the blast would receive full medical care for their
wounds, and that the servicemen killed would be posthumously awarded the “For
Courage” medal.
But even as Porosheno spoke before the nation, political
recriminations over the incident were breaking out.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov blamed the chaos on
Svoboda leaader Oleh Tyahnybok. In a strongly worded statement on his Facebook
page on Aug. 31, Avakov said he “directly blames Tyahnybok and his Svoboda Party”
for the incident.
“Tyahnybok didn’t bring protesters to the Verkhovnaya
Rada, Tyahnybok brought criminals who murdered and mutilated our soldiers,”
Avakov wrote.
“I saw the video, the photographs, in which Mr. Tyahnybok
is located directly next to his supporters, together with those who beat our
guys,” Avakov wrote, adding that the “investigation will be thorough, and the
punishment – I hope – inescapable.”
The Svoboda party, in turn, has demanded
Avakov’s resignation and accused the current government of causing the mayhem
that erupted on Aug. 31.
Staff writer Allison Quinn can be
reached at [email protected]
