Amid a heavy military and police presence in the port city of Odesa commemorations were held to remember those killed a year ago in the Ukrainian Black Sea port city.
A deadly fire that erupted on May 2, 2014 at the Trade Union House
during clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian groups. Altogether, 42 people were killed in the fire and as many as six others in other violence that day.
Most of the victims were anti-government activists who were caught in a fire inside the building.
The clashes left the city divided as more than a dozen mysterious bomb explosions, mostly at pro-government offices and buildings, occurred over the past year.
The explosions prompted law enforcement, led by the Security Service of Ukraine , or SBU, to conduct an anti-terrorist operation that has led to the arrest of more than 30 suspects, ranging from Communist Party members to anti-government activists who were allegedly taking directions from Moscow.
Read Lily Hyde’s coverage of the Odesa tragedy a year ago here
