Prawy Sektor tries the coup in Ukraine
(B2) Even if all eyes in Europe are on Greece, we must keep an alert mind about what is happening in the surrounding area, particularly in Ukraine where a new internal front could open up. The tension between the members of Prawy Sektor, a far-right paramilitary group (even neo-Nazis for some), and government forces in kyiv broke out.
A shooting in Mukachevo
Two people (of Prawy Sektor) were reportedly killed at least in a shooting that broke out on Saturday (July 11) at a cafe in Mukachevo, a city in Transcarpathia in western Ukraine, not far from the Hungarian and Slovak borders. A shootout pitted them against the police and the bodyguards of Mikhailo Lanyo, deputy and former member of the Party of Regions. Several wounded were also taken to hospital - civilians, police - including at least one in critical condition, according to the report released by OSCE observers that night. The Prawy Sektor activists then took refuge in the forest. The authorities intend to disarm these various movements which could appear as a threat to security.
A resumption of "autonomous" movements?
Some representatives of the paramilitary movement, considering that they are victims of the government's desire to eliminate the volunteer battalions, have indicated that they will withdraw their combatants - in particular from the 5th battalion - from the war zones, according to the KyevPost, which also mentions paramilitary involvement in cigarette smuggling. They were demonstrated, loudly, in kyiv, in front of the presidential palace
(NGV)
The report of the OSCE observers (12.7)
On 12 July, the SMM dispatched a patrol of the Ivano-Frankivsk-based team to monitor events in the wake of an armed incident that reportedly occurred the previous day in Mukachevo (Zakarpattia region, 605km south-west of Kyiv). According to media reports, at least two people were killed – reportedly members of the Right Sector (Pravyi Sektor) – and several others were injured in a shootout at a café allegedly owned by a member of parliament (Verkhovna Rada).
On its way to Mukachevo, the SMM observed heightened security measures, including several police checkpoints. At one such checkpoint, north of Mukachevo, about 2km from the alleged incident scene, the SMM saw the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) arriving, with ten armored vans and two minibuses. At the time, the scene itself was made inaccessible by law enforcement for security reasons.
The SMM puts together with the Mukachevo mayor, deputy mayor, and a police spokesperson. According to the interlocutors, a task force from Kyiv, comprised of the SBU, the National Guard and the Prosecutor General's Office, was in charge of the on-going post-incident operation. According to them, other Right Sector members involved in the incident had hidden in a forest. At 18:02, near Stryi (120km north-east of Mukachevo), the SMM saw a Ukrainian Armed Forces convoy moving towards Mukachevo, comprised of 11 APCs, two trucks loaded with soldiers and one fuel truck.
The SMM spoke with the Mukachevo hospital director and two of his deputies, who said a man with a gunshot wound in his head, admitted to hospital on 11 July, was still in a critical state. According to them, on the same day five wounded civilians and five police had been admitted to hospital. On 12 July, they added, police had brought to hospital one dead body, and the SBU had brought two seriously injured persons. They said three civilians and three police admitted the previous day had been discharged today. The SMM will continue to monitor the situation.
