New commander of the Territorial Defense Forces led internal troops during the Maidan revolution
During the Revolution of Dignity, the new commander of the Territorial Defense Forces, Ihor Plakhuta, worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and led the Internal Troops that dispersed Maidan, said Ukrainian outlet Hromadske on Feb. 11.
On Feb. 11, Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Ihor Plakhuta as the new commander of the Territorial Defense Forces. Earlier, Anatoliy Barhylevych was dismissed from this position and became the new head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, replacing Serhiy Shaptala.
On Feb. 18, 2014, Major General Plakhuta remarked to a journalist that there would be no storming of the protesters' barricades on Maidan. Two hours later they were stormed.
Ukrayinska Pravda reported that Plakhuta had stated that "the men in black who dismantled the barricades were utility workers." He also reported two injuries: a Berkut officer and a soldier.
That same evening, Plakhuta assured Hromadske journalist Anastasia Stanko that Internal Troops soldiers had not used force against the protesters.
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Major General Plakhuta was then the head of the Southern Territorial Command of the Internal Troops of the MIA. He stated that about 400 soldiers of the Internal Troops and the Berkut special forces were involved in clearing the streets adjacent to the Presidential Administration.
According to the media, on Dec. 10, 2013, the Internal Troops completely cleared the government quarter of the Euromaidan barricades.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
