Police in eastern Luhansk Oblast said they found a number of explosives near a Donbas coal blockade camp, but activists have hit back at the report, calling it an act of provocation.
Luhansk Oblast police on March 4 reported finding a number of explosives- including a mine, a grenade and two kilograms of TNT- under a bridge that passes over railway tracks between Shepilova and Svetlanov stations in the Popasnjansky region, where activists set up a tent.
According to the police press service the discovery was made during “investigative and operational actions.”
Chief blockade coordinator Anatoliy Vynohrodsky said he did not know who placed the explosives under the bridge but he believed it was a set up.
“They need to somehow discredit the blockade,” he said. “We don’t need this. We’re stopping trains and obstructing roads. We don’t need to blow anything up.”
Vynohrodsky said this is among a number attempts by authorities to discredit the group.
On their Facebook page, activists wrote that police also demanded access to their base on March 3 based on a tip off about a large number of weapons stored on the premises.
Tensions have been rising between the blockaders and state authorities, with Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman saying the blockade is in the interest of the Russian Federation on TV channel Inter on March 3.
