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Neo-Nazi terror in Odessa: more than 40 killed, hundreds injured  (H/T Panayotis Economopoulos)

On May 2, under the pretext of the so-called march `For unity of Ukraine' (that was dated to football match `Chernomorets' - `Metallist') - the paramilitary squads of Ukrainian nationalist were brought together to Odessa from all over the country. They arrived by buses and by trains. From the very beginning - when they just started to gather on `Sobornaya' square - among ordinary ultra-right fans too many well-equipped paramilitaries could be seen. They had shields, helmets, bats, traumatic and service weapons. Mostly - men about 30-40 years old who were evidently not football fans. Some of them had shields where it was written: '14-th hundred of Maidan self-guard'. And these nationalist paramilitaries became the main striking force of bloody massacre of Odessa residents on `Kulikovo pole' square.

In total there were more than thousand of nationalists that participated in the march and the slaughter that followed it. Local residents of Odessa were the minority among them, while the majority - far-right paramilitaries that were brought together there. They could be identified in particular by dialect (not typical for Odessa region), however many of them openly acknowledged and told where they came from. Local Odessa fans of `Chernomorets' team have left the march at the moment when clashes started - they came just for traditional march to the stadium and when they realized that `visitors' and provocateurs led them to beat local people - the majority of `Chernomorets' fans (identified by black-blue scarves of Odessa club) - immediately left the so-called `peaceful' march.

At the same time `guest-militants' were not going to the stadium. Their aim was to terrorize the city-residents and to unleash violence against the activists of the movements opposed to Kiev junta. The action of nationalists from the very beginning had not a peaceful nature, since they were preparing to start a massacre.


A view by a leftist Ukrainian blogger.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon May 5th, 2014 at 05:43:38 PM EST
The blogger later claims that the Odessa police were sent to guard a government building, leaving the rest of the city very lightly policed.


"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon May 5th, 2014 at 05:46:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Oui (Oui) on Mon May 5th, 2014 at 05:56:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Those with red bands appear to be pro-autonomy supporters (plus some policemen?!. I saw commentaries in Russian that they are the murky provocateurs, instigating a fight with more numerous football fans probably on purpose.

Here is a translated text with graphic photographs, arguing that the fire was a staged decoy, and the real action inside the building was more gruesome actually.

by das monde on Tue May 6th, 2014 at 10:44:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Not just a blogger:

Borotba - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The organization was established in May of 2011 based on the union of the Marxist Organization, Youth against Capitalism, former members of the Komsomol, and other organizations.[3]

Borotba has condemned the 2014 Ukrainian revolution as a Western-backed fascist coup and called for a socialist revolution in Ukraine.[4]



Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se
by A swedish kind of death on Tue May 6th, 2014 at 04:51:19 PM EST
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.
Ukraine: Coup regime raids home of Odessa anti-fascist leader

April 1 -- On the morning of April 1, Ukrainian Security Forces (SBU) agents raided the apartment of Odessa, Ukraine, anti-fascist leader Alexei Albu with a warrant authorizing them to search for lists of activists and for weapons.

Albu, an elected member of the Odessa Regional Council and local coordinator of the leftist Union Borotba (Struggle), was called in for questioning by the SBU on March 11 after he presented a proposal for a referendum on regional autonomy at the council.

Another local resistance leader, Anton Davidchenko, was seized by special forces on March 17 and kidnapped to Kiev, Ukraine's capital city.

 « click for more info VK
Alexei Albu, center, at anti-fascist march in Odessa, March 30. (Photo: Borotba)

On the eve of the raid, the local "Euromaidan" movement -- supporters of the pro-Western, fascist-dominated junta in Kiev -- held a rally outside police headquarters demanding the arrest of Albu and other prominent anti-fascists.

Borotba Union: Tribute to the victims of the racist murders (Jan. 2013)



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Tue May 6th, 2014 at 05:54:50 PM EST
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