Police Disguised as People Units

Law enforcers tend not to talk about their slight fear of units of Self-Defense. They are just as much afraid of them as of patrolling the streets because of the rampant crime. Sure they are! Today, in every police office, they are talking about three of their fellows who were shot by strangers on the 2^nd of March 2 on Brovarskaya Trassa (PPC Bykivnia). By assault rifles. Straight away. To take their service weapons. They still cannot forget another serious crime – cops shot on the Simirenko Ulitsa in Kiev. That’s why the metropolitan police are forced not only to cooperate with people’s units, but also to sometimes work, disguised as them.

The administration of the Solomianka district, Kiev, 6 PM. Officials are going home, and about 20 men are gathering in the boardroom: every night since the 22^nd of February, Self-Defense member have been holding meetings with the police. That night, for example, there are representatives of the department of public security of the Solomianka Office of Internal Affairs in the hall (the police of the Holosiiv district have built similar relations with units of the Maidan). They are discussing the balance of power, which routes they should search first of all, which precincts should be open at night... Some Self-Defense members have firearms, but the police do not ask too many questions.

“Yeah, it’s no longer safe for these guys to go out,” says Irina Levchenko, speaker of the Solomianka Office of Internal Affairs in Kiev. “But they should perform their duties. That’s why, when Self-Defense appeared in this district, we began out close cooperation. They patrol the routes with our units. In case of conflicts, they can act as a buffer between dissatisfied citizens and the police. In addition, they are very helpful in identifying who are the Maidan activists and who are criminals.”

“Who have you detained by joint forces?”

“Hijackers, for example. There are no longer any robberies in the district. And whether it’s by our joint efforts or by self-organized residents, but the number of street crimes throughout the district has drastically decreased. Those are car theft, theft from vehicles... There was only one robbery last week, but before that (until mid-February. – Reporter), we registered one or two every night because we have a train station here, with “touring” criminals. By the 20^th of February, over 10 cars were burned, now there is none.”

“And what actually happened a few days ago, when there was street shooting?”

“In the evening of the 25^th of February we received a call and they were saying there was a crowd of armed people and they heard gunshots. First of all, we reported this to Self-Defense and went to the scene. We found several cars there, with bullet holes and no license plates, supposedly from Yanukovych’s convoy. Our staff found a couple of sleeves. We are now investigating who these guys are: Self-Defense members, who detained the convoy, or criminals, who shot cars of civilians.”

The last sentence of the speaker sounds painful. But then she receives a call on her cell phone, and I unwittingly hear that the Maidan units have returned the stolen weapons to the State Security Service…

“On the way back, they took the weapons of the State Security Service officers,” Irina Levchenko explains to me, hanging up. “The 8^th group of Afghans of Self-Defense units of the Maidan, together with CID, has found those weapons. And returned them to the guys. I don’t know the details, you know I’ve just received the information.”

And I understand that it’s not the right time for provocative questions to ordinary police officers who are trying to get over it and do their job.

Time For Businessmen

The restaurant of the Konstantinovskiy brothers, two multimillionaires, has been closed for a while. But in the parking lot, there are plenty of cars; armed guards are standing at the gates, as well as armored jeeps and guards in the courtyard. And in the restaurant itself, a few dozens of strong sporty guys are eating buckwheat porridge with meat. They're all dressed in civilian clothes. The brothers themselves are twins of medium height with shaved heads, wiry athlets who look much younger in their 54 years. Occasionally, respectable people, businessmen and friends come up to them. All of them are impressed by the small “army” and worried about their business, but eager to receive protection – “just in case”. At some point, I get scared: it looks too much like the 90s, when strong guys like them went on criminal meetings. The brothers themselves claim to have created their unit with the purpose to fight the crime.

“We spent lots of time on the Maidan,” says Vyacheslav Constantinoskiy with enthusiasm. “When we started to receive plenty of news of looting and robbery, the first thought was to protect our business. But then we sat down and thought that we were not foreigners in the city and if you have the resources, why not help protect Kiev. Many people who know us ask for help.”

“What are your resources?”

“We have an isolated base in the form of the restaurant, a car park and registered weapons. Besides, we have our own extensive security service. All of them are reliable people, with whom we have been working for years. The only problem is the information. I would like to cooperate with the police because if some granny sees how they are trying to break into someone’s house, she won’t call us, she won’t have out contacts, she will dial 102. And if they don’t come – a common problem these days – people will suffer. However, the police don’t want to work with us. We’re also worried for the guys who join groups without weapons to protect their homes, but they don’t have any experience. Yesterday, for example, members of Automaidan asked us to come to a private sector, where there were about 15 strangers in cars, and I don’t know if they were armed: we didn’t catch them by the hand. When we arrived, they just sat in their cars, probably watching how things went. We went up and talked with them. They left the place.”

The brothers also tell me how they came to the scene when there was a call reporting an attempt to take over a tax inspection building that works with big taxpayers.

“The same. There were some people with assault rifles,” says Alexander. “Who they work for, I don’t know. It’s clear someone either is interested in destabilizing the situation or may want to take over the place of the manager – it happens rather often these days. But seeing armed guys, I mean us, they retreated and left.”

The brothers believe that in Kiev, there are several major armed groups of 20-30 people who cause serious damage.

“And if we catch them,” says Vyacheslav, “and at least once give them a hard time, then many of them will no longer have desire to do it. Because, looking at them, others form units and, seeing the unstable situation in the country, try to attack peaceful business and citizens, here come petty crimes, then bigger ones, then those guys become a gang. I would like to stop at least one major group, so that others won’t be like them.”

“What measures are you ready to take?”

“If, like yesterday, we catch a group that easily leaves, we won’t stir up conflicts. It we catch small hooligans, we’ll cuff them and let go. But with armed people, we’ll speak their language.

The businessmen say that those whom they had to face also introduce themselves as Right Sector of Self-Defense. The brothers dismiss the idea that those people can be disguising as aggressors, but admit that they may be connected to the Maidan.

“The Maidan is not perfect, and many of those who were actually there, can become criminals today. They can refer to some person, as yesterday they could meet them indeed,” says Vyacheslav. “I've heard that lots of organizations are now recruiting marauders, but they shouldn’t forget that marauders are shot during the war.”

“Can your occupation develop into a business?” I ask.

Alexander nods:

“We use only our own resources now, but, sure, it cannot continue like this for a long time. That’s why we cannot rule out that our unit can become a security business.”

Fighters for Sale

Professional security business is very profitable today: one soldier trained in hand-to-hand-fighting with an ability to handle a weapon, costs from 600 to 800 hryvnias per night, and a head of such a squad earn 1 000-1 200 hryvnias, while having excellent special training. That’s why the Konstantinovskiy brothers are not the only ones who can turn self-defense into business. Officially, the Maidan units completely dismiss the information about the commercial side to their work, stressing that even if some people try to “buy” them, it’s useless. But ordinary Self-Defense members admit that it is a financial issue that today undermines numbers of fighters who went to defend their homes and country.

The soldier Vladislav agrees to meet on neutral territory with full anonymity provided. We meet at the metro station Shuliavska around 9 PM and drive off to a quiet place with no cars. My counterpart is a handsome strong brunette who is really worried about his fellow and what is happening with them today.

“We are becoming fewer and fewer”, he says annoyingly while parking.

“Where do you go?”

“Our guys (from the Sviatoshyn district in Kiev. – Reporter) are being lured by different organizations. For example, I got a call by an organization Narodna Rada – Gromadyanska Kolo, who offered a place for us. Or guys are on duty, but those are bypassing them and call up dispatchers to whom they also offer positions. At the same time, they’re disguising as the heads of the Sviatoshyn district. They don’t promise lots of benefits, only money for gas, identity cards and food. They also promise that it will be useful for us in the future. Like, when it's over, there will be the new police and all of you will become policemen. It’s not so difficult to lure kids. First, there we’ve been buying petrol ourselves for a while and work only by the enthusiasm. That is during the day we do our job, but at night we patrol. We actually sleep for two or three hours a day, and they, dumb heads, use that. Certain businessmen also call us, as well as representatives of parties – Svoboda, Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform – and try to lure us: they give us vests, helmets and IDs. They sometimes follow our cars, trying to intimidate us. That’s why guys are thinking about coming under their wing.”

Vladislav says that recently those Narodna Rada members organized of meeting of Self-Defense members of the Sviatoshyn district in one of the nightclubs on Prospekt Pobedy. Beside the fighters, they also invited businessmen and representatives of local authorities. In particular, Vladislav recognized Aleksandr Pabat, deputy of the Kiev city council. At the meeting, the businessmen were offered protection and the guys – work.

“We asked them right away: are you doing it for business only? They started to stutter, like, not only for business but also for the people... After that, we stopped listening to them, most of the guys went out of there, but some stayed.”

Reporter called Aleksandr Pabat, who shed light on who actually those Narodna Rada members were and what happened in the nightclub.

“I came to that meeting as a resident of Borshchahivka, not a deputy. All of this was presented as the forming of the association of Self-Defense in our neighborhood. So I offered them a few steps for structuring. But it turned out that the organizers want to put this on a commercial basis. The organizers were deputies of the Sviatoshyn district from the parties Batkivshchyna, Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reformand Svoboda, I’ve known them for a long time. They offered the kids to abandon the Maidan Self-Defense, as well as Right Sector. Like, let’s go under our wing, we’ll protect you. At the same time, they offered the same for the businessmen, promising them protection, too. That is so because these parties are afraid of people’s control, and they may have wanted to make money. And I know that they’re doing the same in other districts of Kiev.”

Most of Self-Defense members are not professionals, that’s for sure, and that’s why the organizers didn’t plan to pay them. According to Pabat, the businessmen didn’t agree to pay for the services as well, so that the idea of the Gromadyanska Kolo has fallen flat. However, they’re not giving up...

On the one hand, units of Self-Defense have become a forced necessity for Kiev and the region, as law enforcers didn’t work because of the situation in the country. The police today are just trying to recover and fight again. On the other hand, many residents of the country, as well as officials, are outraged that today people, who have no legal right to do it, are checking their documents at the roadblocks. Former boys and suspicious persons suddenly started to carry assault rifles... The eligibility of these units and their actions (such as checking of documents and inspection of baggage at the airport) also raises many questions. But it’s not safe to express outrage about that. A notable mention is the Rivno activist Alexander Muzychko (a.k.a Sasha Beliy), who first appeared with the Kalashnikov in the local state administration, cuffed the local prosecutor, and then promised to the newly appointed Minister of the Interior, Arsen Avakov, that he will “hang him on a tree, like a dog.” And a few activists of the Maidan (e.g., Anatoliy Traksel) praised Muzychko actions on their pages in social networks.

It’s horrible that these units are so enjoying so much confidence among many citizens that people cannot doubt their statements, and they immediately find an excuse to the use of force.

“Today, a member of Self-Defense can come anywhere,” Andrey Pervak said to me during an interview​​, patting his chest gun holster.

And that is their truth.

Tours of Impostors

Bandits hiding behind flags of the Self-Defense of the Maidan and Right Sector, most clearly manifested themselves on the roads of Kiev and the Kiev region. But this trend is beginning to spread to other areas.

Something similar to false Self-Defense was seen on the roads of Dnipropetrovsk. Recently, two masked bandits, with an ax and pneumatic gun, have made an ambush by Krivoy Rog. The stopped a car of a local 50-year-old businessman, hit the body with an ax and demanded money. To look more convincing, they pointed a gun at the man. They took 2000 hryvnias and disappeared.

“The other day, strangers walked into a bus. They threatened the passengers with weapons, forced them to remove jewelry and give money. As a goodbye, they shouted, “Right Sector! Glory to Ukraine!” and disappeared,” says Yevgeniy Borisov, a representative of Right Sector. “This is not the first incident in which criminals disguise as us. Once even the mother of a student called us and said, “They are extorting money from my son, they say it’s for you. Please deal with or I’ll call the police.” But to our questions who she was, where she lived and where her son studied, she snapped, “You yourselves know.”

I must say that many car owners have said that recently traffic cops have been “too polite”, refusing taking bribes and writing out the protocols. But the press service of the Lviv Right Sector tells a different story, “The traffic police have doubled the “rates” of bribes, citing the fact that they give the half to Right Sector.” Activists call that information a campaign to discredit the movement.

In Odessa, they don’t disguise as Right Sector members, but that doesn’t make the situation calmer.

Over the past two months, in Odessa and the region the crime rate has increased dramatically. This is what Andrey Pinigin, head of the Odessa Regional Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of the Interior, said to us:

“Criminals try to take advantage of the situation – they’re trying to quietly rob and steal.”

“Yesterday, right under the building of the Suvorov district department, we heard a cry – a robber ripped a gold chain from somebody while running. On officer, who went out to have a smoke, managed to catch up with the thief and detained him. It turned out that the robber was a resident of Kherson. He was hired by some Odessa civic actor to participate in the rally. After the rally, he decided to earn something. However, the thief didn’t know the city well, and he committed the crime right under the district department,” a police officer told to Reporter.

The Odessa police complain that their patrols are weakened by the lack of traditional reinforcement of Berkut.

“Every second passer-by is now armed with something – be it a knife, a stick or a traumatic gun. We try not to bother anyone, as we can run into mad or inadequate people. Now we are trying to intervene only in real crimes,” Yuriy V., a sergeant of the Odessa Regiment patrol, admitted.

By the way, the Odessa Berkut doesn’t patrol the city yet as it is waiting for changes.

“We’ve had a recertification recently. Everyone who wanted to stay in the new unit passed it. A few people decided to transfer and quit, but they were few. Last month, we received our salaries on time. Now we’re waiting for instructions and reformatting the units,” says Nikolay Pankiv, a commander of the Odessa Berkut.

It seems that the syndrome of non-interference spread to other security forces in Odessabeside the police. The traffic police say that the majority of officers do their best not to work at night and do not stop cars on empty routes.

“We’re scared, you can get a bullet in the head easily now,” said to Reporter a traffic policeman Andrey.

The Security Service of Ukraine said that the staff are simply “waiting and doing nothing.”

“They’ve taken our weapons and identity cards. We get the documents only when we come to work. The authorities don’t give us actual issues to solve – we’re waiting when they fire the commanders and send us new ones,” told us an employee of the Odessa UAS Vladimir.

It is interesting that along with the security forces in Odessa doing nothing, the activity of many national units is increasing, as well as groups of Self-Defense and other civic groups. Many of them “forget” to register with the police and carry out actions at their own risk. However, up to the Shyriaievedistrict in Odessa, there are no outposts and barricades of tires, unlike throughout the rest of Ukraine.

Source: http://reporter.vesti.ua/41323-stop-gop-stopu

 

62. Right Sector Sealed Office of Newly Appointed Head of Regional Police in Rivne.
Rivne, 07/03/2014
By thane initiative of activists, the office of the new head of the regional police was sealed in Rivne as his candidature wasn’t conformed to the local Maidan. In the afternoon of the 6^th of March, several dozens of public activists came to Vyacheslav Chayka, head of Regional Office of the Ministry of the Interior, who was appointed on the 4^th of March and suggested that he should step down from office. Their basic argument was that his candidature isn’t conformed to the citizens of the region and therefore this appointment, in their opinion, is unofficial. Activists expressed their wish to see the dismissal order of Chayka till tomorrow’s evening. Besides, they want the new person who is planned to be appointed to the highest police position of the region to deliver a speech at the Popular Assembly, which is to take part at 1 PM on Sunday at the central square in Rivne.

Source: http://tyzhden.ua/News/104282/PrintView?attempt=1

http://zik.ua/ua/news/2014/03/07/pritsivnyky_umvs_rivnenshchyny__proty_novopryznachenogo_kerivnyka_468552

 

63. Symbolical Gallows Set Up in Cherkassy and Dnipropetrovsk. Cherkassy, 07/03/2014
A real gallow was set up in the center of Cherkassy, according to the reports of local citizens on social networks, with photos of the device for execution attached. It is remarkable that exactly in this place in 1942, during fascist occupation, the gallows for real executions were set up. Today it became known that the symbolical gallows for political undesirables and dissidents are also set up in Dnipropetrovsk. The effigies of Oleg Tsaryov and Vadim Kolesnichenko, deputees of the Party of Regions, hang upon the gallow.

Source: http://polemika.com.ua/news-140715.html

 

64. Masked Men Beat and Robbed Man in Bukovina. Chernivtsi region, 07/03/2014
10 masked men intruded into the man`s house, beat him and robbed him of valuables and weapons in Chernivitsi regional. It was reported to the ZIK news agency by the public relations sector of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Chernivitsi region. On the 6th of March at 9 PM, the department received a message from a 40-year-old resident of the Storozhenitsky area saying that he had been beaten and robbed in his own house by masked men. The investigative group established that ten masked men burst into the house through an unlocked door, beat the man and his 45-year-old acquaintance. Then the criminals bound them and demanded that they say where money was. The men seized 2000 euro, 4000 dollars, about 50000 hryvnias and gold items. The law enforcers also established that 2 firearms the owner was allowed to carry were stolen from the house. The injured owner of the house is in the Storozhinetskaya central hospital now. His acquaintance received medical help and he is at home now. The incident has aroused criminal proceedings. Measures to establish who the intruders were and where they are now are being taken.

Source: http://zik.ua/ua/news/2014/03/07/na_bukovyni_nevidomi_u_maskah_pobyly_i_pograbuvaly_cholovika_468492

65. Police Station Attacked by Molotov Cocktail Throwers. Ternopil, 07/03/2014
On the 7th of March, a group of young men came to the Ternopil police office, situated on the Taras Shevchenko Bulvar, 10, around 1 AM. Some of the men wore masks; two of them held Molotov cocktails in their hands, acted aggressively and violated public order. According to the witnesses some of the men seemed drunk. Residents of the near houses called the police. The law enforcers acted quickly, in a couple of minutes an investigative group and a patrol arrived at the scene. The young men ran when they heard the sirens of the patrol cars.

Sources: http://poglyad.te.ua/podii/ternopolem-rozhulyuyut-provokatory-z-koktejlyamy-molotova/

http://zik.ua/ua/news/2014/03/07/u_ternopoli_molodyky_v_maskah_beshketuvaly_bilya_viddilku_militsii_468442