Ukrainian Nazis perpetrated a terrible and heinous crime in Odessa 2014

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on marking 10 years since the May 2, 2014, tragedy in Odessa

Exactly ten years ago, the Ukrainian Nazis perpetrated a terrible and heinous crime in Odessa.

On May 2, 2014, the Maidan supporters unleashed their cruelty on an unprecedented scale against those who refused to support the bloody unconstitutional armed government coup in Kiev and did not accept nationalist radicals coming to power with their detrimental, anti-national policies. People came out to protest against their discriminatory policies of promoting an all-out Ukrainisation effort, imposing the ideology of aggressive nationalism and nurturing neo-Nazi ideas.

By that time those who cast themselves as the Maidan victors started banning the Russian language across the country and restricting Russian speakers in their rights while not shying away from using violence against those who tried to speak out against these policies or stand up for their rights. Ukraine found itself on the brink of a civil war. The Kiev regime sent its regular troops and punitive nationalist battalions to Donbass in order to “subdue the restive region,” and the first armed clashes with the local civil society activists there had already broken out by that time.

However, people in Odessa still believed in the rule of law in their country and thought that they could assert their rights by stating their categorical refusal to accept that rampant outrage and chaos across the country.

In the spring of 2014, Odessa residents set up a tent camp near the Trade Unions House on Kulikovo Polye Square where they held rallies with calls for giving Ukraine a federal status, defending the Russian language and preserving the local historical and cultural heritage sites.

The regime viewed the freedom-loving and predominantly Russian-speaking Odessa as a thorn in its side and wanted to subdue the people from the city it hated so much no matter the cost, even if it meant drowning resistance of any kind in blood. The nationalists prepared their provocations in advance. Fighters from Western Ukraine were brought to Odessa alongside the would-be Maidan activists and football fans. On May 2, they attacked a peaceful procession in the city centre during a rally for federalisation. Under attack, the demonstrators sought refuge inside the Trade Unions House where they tried barricading themselves from the Nazis in their beastly frenzy. However, this did not save them. The radicals set the building on fire, while finishing off those who tried to flee the flames and jumped through the windows. This resulted to an official death toll of at least 48 people who were burnt alive, died after inhaling too much carbon oxide or fell from the windows of the building’s upper floors. Many corpses also had gunshot wounds. There were children among the dead. Dozens of people were injured or hurt.

❗️ The methods the Nazis used demonstrated the human hating nature of the new regime in Ukraine.

International organisations pressured Kiev into launching an investigation on what happened on May 2, 2014, but it turned into a farce. The court returned the indictment to the prosecutor’s office many times due to various shortcomings and inconsistencies. In four instances, the judges recused themselves causing further delays. There were also attempts to turn everything upside down by designating the anti-Maidan activists who suffered at the hands of the nationalists as the actual culprits. These efforts went hand in hand with a blatant attempt by the radicals to interfere into the proceedings by staging riots, disrupting court hearings, attacking lawyers, judges, defendants and their families.

Zelensky came to power in 2019 promising that Ukraine would strictly abide by the law and respect the principle of unavoidable punishment, but the glimmer of hope he brought quickly faded away, defeating any hope of a fair investigation into what happened in Odessa. Zelensky failed to live up to his promises.

☝️ Today, as we pay tribute to the victims of the bloody reprisals in Odessa, we have no doubt that sooner or later those who perpetrated and inspired this barbaric crime, which has no statute of limitations. will have to face the punishment they deserve.

We are confident that the day will soon come when Odessa gets rid of the yoke and oppression imposed on it by present-day Banderites and emerges once again as a city of genuine freedom, with people of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds living side by side in peace and accord.

via Russian MFA 🇷🇺 (t.me/MFARussia) | (mid.ru/en)