The Equality March organized by the LGBT community in central Kyiv has passed without gross violation of public order, no one was arrested during the event, National police chief Serhiy Knyazev said.
“There were no arrests and no major violation of public order at all,” Knyazev said during a joint briefing with Ukraine’s First Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy and Kyiv police chief Andriy Kryshchenko on June 17 afternoon.
After clashes before the start of the Equality March police held 57 people, most of whom have now been released, Kryshchenko said.
“Nearly most [of them] have been released. Administrative reports have been drafted. Doctors were called in to district [police] stations to tend to whoever needed medical attention, and all were provided with legal assistance. Several people remain [in police custody]. Their actions will be considered in the context of Article 345 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code ([threat of violence against a law enforcement officer],” the Kyiv police chief said.
Because the tear gas and pyrotechnics used against the police were prepared in advance, the police response was justified, he said.
In all, some 3,500 people took part in the march, during which security was provided by 2,500 police officers and as many were deployed elsewhere in the capital to maintain public order, Yarovy said.
Currently, the police continue patrolling the streets of Kyiv, the official said.
