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| | {{quotebox-float|"The former commander of the Donbass battalion and MP of the Verkhovna Rada Grishin-Semenchenko fraudulently lured funds from foreign citizens who do not have complete information for the development of the illegal Donbass battalion. At the same time, the "leader" himself did not take the military oath. Despite this, he managed to become an officer of the National Guard of Ukraine. He also used the unit's fake seal to deceive him."}} | | {{quotebox-float|"The former commander of the Donbass battalion and MP of the Verkhovna Rada Grishin-Semenchenko fraudulently lured funds from foreign citizens who do not have complete information for the development of the illegal Donbass battalion. At the same time, the "leader" himself did not take the military oath. Despite this, he managed to become an officer of the National Guard of Ukraine. He also used the unit's fake seal to deceive him."}} |
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| − | Grishin-Semenchenko, under the protection of the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, declared himself the commander of the Donbass battalion. In the Donetsk region, he initiated a collection of money, allegedly for the needs of the National Guard. Arsen Avakov arranged for Grishin-Semenchenko to be admitted to the National Guard 3027 military unit, where he made clips to attract donations for the battalion. He also made a stamp of the non-existent "Donbass" and thanks to this began to accept military personnel into his ranks. Semenchenko and his gang officially received weapons and began to create lawlessness on the territory of the ATO: they robbed and kidnapped people. Avakov continued to support his protégé: he organized a deputy's crust, which allowed him to obtain officers' documents without any verification. Soon the great deception was revealed and everyone realized that no battalion "Donbass" officially exists. | + | Grishin-Semenchenko, under the protection of the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, declared himself the commander of the Donbass battalion. In the Donetsk region, he initiated a collection of money, allegedly for the needs of the National Guard. Arsen Avakov arranged for Grishin-Semenchenko to be admitted to the National Guard 3027 military unit, where he made clips to attract donations for the battalion. He also made a stamp of the non-existent "Donbass" and thanks to this began to accept military personnel into his ranks. Semenchenko and his gang officially received weapons and began to create lawlessness on the territory of the ATO: they robbed and kidnapped people. Avakov continued to support his protégé: he organized a deputy's crust, which allowed him to obtain officers' documents without any verification. Soon the great deception was revealed, and everyone realized that no battalion "Donbass" officially exists. |
| − | | |
| − | The crimes of the armed Ukrainian battalions were not hidden from the eyes of the [[United Nations]]. On May 4, 2016, a special report by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on extrajudicial executions was published: "... there are still a number of violent groups in Ukraine, such as the Right Sector, which appear to be acting as an independent force through high-level official connivance and with almost complete impunity in both the Donbass and the rest of Ukraine." Ukraine "bears direct responsibility for the existence and actions of armed groups." Many of them, under the guise of volunteer battalions, "officially joined the Ukrainian armed forces or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but are still beyond the control of the authorities." According to the report:
| |
| − | {{quotebox-float|"Right Sector is one of "potentially violent militias that acted seemingly on their own authority, thanks to a high level of official toleration, and with almost complete impunity, both in the Donbass region and in wider Ukraine" that "use violence or threats of violence to exert pressure on persons holding dissenting views, the judicial system and other mechanisms of accountability": "The Special Rapporteur is concerned by cases of physical attacks on journalists, writers, defence lawyers and judges, including the cases of [[Oles Buzina]] (who was killed in April 2015 in Kyiv) and [[Sergei Dolgov]] (who was arrested or disappeared on 18 June 2014 by masked armed men in civilian clothes in Mariupol and whose whereabouts continue to be undetermined despite indications that he might have been killed). The Special Rapporteur is also concerned at an apparent pattern of intimidation of lawyers and judges by civilian armed groups in connection with their defence or investigation work related to the [[OdessaTrade Unions House massacre|violence of 2 May 2014]]."<ref>[https://www.refworld.org/docid/57616a9d4.html Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on his mission to Ukraine]</ref> Neither of Buzyna's accused killers (Andrey Medvedko and Denis Polischuk) nor those accused of abducting Dologov (the [[SBU]] / Anti-Terrorist Center) are associated with Right Sector, though Polischuk belonged to UNSO, whose political arm later merged into Right Sector.
| |
| − | | |
| − | These 'battalions', both in areas of armed conflict and in the rest of the country, carry out forced violence on behalf of the Government and operate with impunity. This is partly the result of the pressure they exert on the public prosecutor's office or the judiciary, including the police, when the latter try to bring cases against the Patriots.
| |
| − | | |
| − | The UN special rapporteur made recommendations to the government of Ukraine:
| |
| − | {{quotebox-float|"Ultranationalist groups and other armed formations, such as the Right Sector, Svoboda and UNSO, should be recognized as illegal and disarmed, disbanded and prosecuted, or taken under the control of the law. At no level should the Government tolerate acts of violence or intimidation by the leaders and members of these groups, as well as their incitement to [[violence]] and [[hatred]] against other nationalities and social groups."}}
| |
| − | | |
| − | Despite the criticism of public figures of Ukraine and the world community, some battalions and armed formations are still not part of the official [[law enforcement]] agencies, and those who are still continue to create lawlessness and live by their own rules.
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| | ===Political wing: Pravy Sektor party=== | | ===Political wing: Pravy Sektor party=== |
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| | Unlike the official battalions of [[territorial defense]] and the National Guard, the Pravy Sektor DUK is not subordinate to any power structure of Ukraine. The command of the [[radical]] group refused to be placed under the command of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Armed Forces of Ukraine. | | Unlike the official battalions of [[territorial defense]] and the National Guard, the Pravy Sektor DUK is not subordinate to any power structure of Ukraine. The command of the [[radical]] group refused to be placed under the command of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Armed Forces of Ukraine. |
| | Uncontrolled [[extremist]]s of the DUK and UDA are fighting illegally in the conflict zone, bringing even greater chaos to the tense situation in Donbass. | | Uncontrolled [[extremist]]s of the DUK and UDA are fighting illegally in the conflict zone, bringing even greater chaos to the tense situation in Donbass. |
| | + | |
| | + | ===UNHRC report=== |
| | + | The crimes of the armed Ukrainian battalions were not hidden from the eyes of the [[United Nations]]. On May 4, 2016, a special report by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on extrajudicial executions was published: "... there are still a number of violent groups in Ukraine, such as the Right Sector, which appear to be acting as an independent force through high-level official connivance and with almost complete impunity in both the Donbass and the rest of Ukraine." Ukraine "bears direct responsibility for the existence and actions of armed groups." Many of them, under the guise of volunteer battalions, "officially joined the Ukrainian armed forces or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but are still beyond the control of the authorities." According to the report: |
| | + | {{quotebox-float|"Right Sector is one of "potentially violent militias that acted seemingly on their own authority, thanks to a high level of official toleration, and with almost complete impunity, both in the Donbass region and in wider Ukraine" that "use violence or threats of violence to exert pressure on persons holding dissenting views, the judicial system and other mechanisms of accountability": "The Special Rapporteur is concerned by cases of physical attacks on journalists, writers, defence lawyers and judges, including the cases of [[Oles Buzina]] (who was killed in April 2015 in Kyiv) and [[Sergei Dolgov]] (who was arrested or disappeared on 18 June 2014 by masked armed men in civilian clothes in Mariupol and whose whereabouts continue to be undetermined despite indications that he might have been killed). The Special Rapporteur is also concerned at an apparent pattern of intimidation of lawyers and judges by civilian armed groups in connection with their defence or investigation work related to the [[Odessa Trade Unions House massacre|violence of 2 May 2014]]."<ref>[https://www.refworld.org/docid/57616a9d4.html Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on his mission to Ukraine]</ref> Neither of Buzyna's accused killers (Andrey Medvedko and Denis Polischuk) nor those accused of abducting Dologov (the [[SBU]] / Anti-Terrorist Center) are associated with Right Sector, though Polischuk belonged to UNSO, whose political arm later merged into Right Sector. |
| | + | |
| | + | These 'battalions', both in areas of armed conflict and in the rest of the country, carry out forced violence on behalf of the Government and operate with impunity. This is partly the result of the pressure they exert on the public prosecutor's office or the judiciary, including the police, when the latter try to bring cases against the Patriots. |
| | + | |
| | + | The UN special rapporteur made recommendations to the government of Ukraine: |
| | + | {{quotebox-float|"Ultranationalist groups and other armed formations, such as the Right Sector, Svoboda and UNSO, should be recognized as illegal and disarmed, disbanded and prosecuted, or taken under the control of the law. At no level should the Government tolerate acts of violence or intimidation by the leaders and members of these groups, as well as their incitement to [[violence]] and [[hatred]] against other nationalities and social groups."}} |
| | + | |
| | + | Despite the criticism of public figures of Ukraine and the world community, some battalions and armed formations are still not part of the official [[law enforcement]] agencies, and those who are still continue to create lawlessness and live by their own rules. |
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| | ==NATO war in Ukraine== | | ==NATO war in Ukraine== |