Ukraine points finger at ultranationalists after deadly Kiev clash
World
Ukraine points finger at ultranationalists after deadly Kiev clash
One policeman was killed and dozens were injured Monday in street battles with protesters in Kiev as Ukrainian lawmakers gave their initial backing to controversial legislation granting more autonomy to pro-Kremlin rebel regions. It was the worst unrest in the capital since a bloody popular uprising ousted Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovych last year, an event that set in train the separatist insurgency in Ukraine’s industrial east. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk blamed ultranationalists for the violence, but they denied involvement.
At a time when Russia and its bandits are seeking to destroy the country but are unable to do this on the front line, the so-called pro-Ukrainian political forces are trying to open a second front inside the country.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk
The bill on increased autonomy for Ukraine’s regions has sparked heated debate in Ukraine, where opponents see it as an attempt to legalize the seizure by Russian-backed rebels of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The second reading of the legislation is expected by the end of the year. It will need a two-thirds majority of 450 lawmakers to pass that stage. Kiev’s Western allies see the reforms as a chance to end the armed conflict in the east that has claimed more than 6,800 lives over the past 16 months. Contrary to the expectations of separatists, the legislation does not definitively grant the industrial east the semi-autonomous status the insurgents are seeking.
