Mariupol: Enemy to Protest Shirokino Demilitarization

Heights near Shirokino (–empr.media)

Enemy Report: Mariupol Opposes Demilitarization of Shyrokyno / Quemado Institute (from empr.media) / Edited autotranslation / July 15, 2015 / [Editor’s note: This article is presented from the enemy (Ukrainian Armed Forces) point of view, but is interesting for its perspective.] / Already we are preparing the withdrawal of forces from ATO “extreme positions outposts” to “basic defense position.” This was decided at the General Staff of Ukraine. Our thoughts, our anxiety and fear are not heard. And our serious concerns are due to the failure of military operations in Ilovaisk, Saur-Mogila, Debaltseve and the Donetsk airport. Representatives of the Coordination Council of patriotic organizations of Mariupol express their protest against the plans of the General Staff and the sector “M” on the withdrawal of forces from ATO dominant and strategic height “Lighthouse” in Shyrokyno village. At the meeting of representatives of the Council, held on 12 July 2015 at the headquarters of the sector “M”, General Fedorovym, sector commander “M”, made incorrect statements to the volunteer battalions, in particular – that the men of Azov and the Donbass are the bandits and looters, who cannot fight. He explained that he initiated the amendments to the Minsk agreements in March this year, saving the village Shyrokyno. But it’s been three months and the village is completely destroyed. We, ordinary residents of Mariupol and knowing the area, understand that the height of “Lighthouse” is the key to the city of Mariupol. And if the ATO is forced even a meter from these strategically important heights, it means to expose a city of half a million nebezpekuobstriliv [sic]. None of us residents does not guarantee that will be the condition of the Minsk agreements [sic]. By the Minsk Agreements the village of Shyrokyno is Ukrainian territory. We do not understand the decision of the General Staff of Ukraine! We have dealt at all levels. The brother of Deputy Chief of General Staff General Vorobyov is a member of the State Duma. Around us are traitors and treason. The Russian side did not guarantee and does not recognize its military presence on our land, urging the world community that Ukraine is in a civil war. The terrorists left the village of Shyrokyno, but the requirement for us to leave and take a strategic height is putting the city [sic]. We by the Minsk agreements are the line of demarcation and on its territory. The village is completely destroyed, it is impossible to live there. And the presence of representatives of the OBSN [OSCE] does not guarantee peace and tranquility, but rather exposes the city to mortal danger. We do not believe the terrorists and their promises. They do not perform according to arrangements and every day our ATO forces are fired at in the “Lighthouse”. We therefore urge the people to the protest. Caution The protest in Mariupol! Mariupol! Alert! Despite the populist promises not to withdraw from a height “Lighthouse” our fighters, the government still diverts troops from Shyrokyno, leaving a strategic height – exactly the height from which, on January 24 2015, the “East” neighborhood was fired upon! Do not allow a repeat of the attack! Do not give in turn East Shyrokyno 2!

We call all take to the streets and prevent the troops from executing the criminal orders to retreat! On this depends the life of everyone in Mariupol! We must save our city! Obligations to prevent the conversion of Mariupol to the ashes of thousands of deaths and destroyed houses! All in protest! Attend the protest in East neighborhood, near the monument of civilians on Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 17:00. All to protect the city and the world at it!

Quemado Institute Editor’s Note: The author of this urgent call to protest is pretending to believe, or possibly does believe, that the demilitarization of Shirokino will lead to another “attack on Mariupol” similar to that of January 2015,. They are assuming, probably falsely, that the Mariupol attack was carried out by the Novorossiya Armed Forces. Many observers at the time, however, attributed the Mariupol attack to UAF weapons gone awry.

“Right Sector” in Ukraine: Ultra-nationalist Rehearse Uprising Against Kiev

By Benjamin Bidder
Spiegel Online
Edited autotranslation from German by Quemado Institute
July 14, 2015

Ukrainien Security forces patrol the village of Bobrovyshche near Mukachevo (–AFP / Alexander Zobin)

Photo at left: Ukrainian Security forces patrol in the village of Bobrovyshche near the small Ukrainian town of Mukacheve, to locate far-right nationalist organization Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) fighters on July 14, 2015. At least two people were killed and several more injured in fighting that erupted on July 11 between police and heavily armed members of the far-right nationalist organization Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) in Mukacheve, western Ukraine. President Petro Poroshenko confronted a fresh crisis Monday as a deadly standoff between interior ministry units and armed Ukrainian ultranationalists entered a third day in a western enclave near Hungary.

The “Right Sector” melting pot of Ukrainian Nationalists and one of the driving forces of 2014 Maidan revolution, has published a manifesto on the Internet. It reads like a declaration of war. It is aimed not as usual against the Kremlin and the “people’s republics” in eastern Ukraine heavily armed by Moscow. It is threatened against the police and their own government. It calls them the “occupation regime”…. after the Maidan revolution had failed to [carry] “the thing through to the end and make the people’s rebellion into a genuine national revolution”, it says on the website of the organization. Blame “those who came to power through the blood of the people”, says the document.

The Ukrainian government had equipped volunteer battalions such as the “right sector” with weapons for the war in Donbass. Now the nationalists are calling out the state power itself. On the weekend, the “rights sector” had opened a second front, this time in the Carpathians, in the far west of the country. A column of nationalists Guard passed through the provincial Mukachevo. The fighters were armed with machine guns, grenade launchers and a heavy machine gun, which they had installed on the back of a pick-up. At a police checkpoint they opened fire on the security forces. A dozen people were injured, including civilians. Two fighters of the “Right Sector” died, the others withdrew. The Kiev government moved military units into the Transcarpathian region and promised tough action. The head of the Security Council referred the nationalists as “bandits and murderers”. The “Right Sector” threatens further escalation. The EU Ambassador Jan Tombinski said he hoped for “rapid adjustment of the conflict”.

Mukachevo lies near the border with several EU countries. Hungary is 40 kilometers away, Slovakia 90 km, and Romania 110 kilometers away.

The “Right Sector” threatens to escalate further. A spokesman for the Nationalist Guard announced that it would send if necessary armed battle organizations into the Ukrainian capital. In the Donbass war zone, only two units were in use. Throughout the country, there are “18 or 19 battalions” in reserve. In Kiev, hundreds of supporters of the organization marched in front of the presidential palace. Also in Odessa, Kharkiv and other cities nationalists went on the streets and demanded the dismissal of the Interior Minister.

The “Right Sector” had emerged during the revolution from the merger of several nationalist factions. The ideology of the leader Dmytro Jarosch can be described as a radical ethno-nationalism. He called for a “de-Russification” of Ukraine. He condemned the alleged “liberal totalitarianism” of Europe and the oligarchs. President Poroshenko, a billionaire, has long been considered too soft by the Rights. Other nationalist organizations support the “Right Sector”, including the infamous Azov volunteer battalion. The coat of arms of the group shows the sun and Wolfsangel, both symbols are also popular with German neo-Nazis. Andrej Bilezkij, commander of “Azov”, threw at Poroschenko’s government last of betrayal. Kiev is ready not only to leave the Donbass to Moscow, but “six, eight or nine more provinces”. The oligarchs wanted to appease Russia, only to “fully milk” the rest of the country alone.

The background of the shooting in Mukachevo is confused. The conflict is deeply rooted in the Ukrainian shadow world in which the distinction between politics and crime are blurred. The reason for the dispute apparently were conflicts over distribution: It was about the control of smuggling in the border region. According to Ukrainian media, the lucrative business has so far been in the hands of local deputies, a henchman of the ousted president Viktor Yanukovych. For some time but should also have earned “Rights Sector” on tobacco smuggling [sic]. Following a meeting of nationalists with the deputies, there was a first exchange of fire. The politicians took advantage of … its compounds to build police roadblocks.

In the government in Kiev calls have been made to fire all employees on Karpathian duty. Dmitry Jarosch, the head of the Right Sector, meanwhile, mimics the prudent statesman. He rushed immediately to Mukachevo, allegedly “to resolve the crisis peacefully”. But Jarosch makes no bones about the fact that his loyalty to the government is limited. According to Spiegel, he warned the Kiev establishment last year: “Our revolution is not yet over”.