More background on the motivations for the Ukraine proxy war. Did you even know about this?
Ukraine guilty over 2014 Odessa massacre – ECHR
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the Ukrainian authorities were responsible for the deaths of 42 anti-coup activists in the city of Odessa in 2014. They lost their lives when Ukrainian nationalists, who supported the armed takeover in Kiev weeks earlier, torched the port city’s Trade Unions House where the protesters had gathered.
“The Court concluded that the relevant authorities had not done everything they reasonably could to prevent the violence, to stop that violence after its outbreak, and to ensure timely rescue measures for those trapped in the fire in the Trade Union Building,” the ECHR said in its decision published on Thursday.
More than a decade later, Kiev has not named or prosecuted any of the perpetrators. Instead, it pinned the blame on Moscow, claiming that the events in Odessa were “a pre-planned and well-financed operation” by the Russian security services. Moscow has repeatedly called for an investigation, even a special tribunal on the massacre.
Relatives of 25 victims, as well as three people who had survived the fire, filed complaints against Kiev with the ECHR. The court found the Ukrainian police “had ignored the available intelligence and the relevant warning signs” and failed to make any “meaningful attempt to prevent the clashes” that led to the fire. The ECHR believes that “propaganda from Russia had had its part” in stirring up tensions, but said that does not absolve Kiev of responsibility for the massacre.
The nation’s law enforcement did not make “any real attempt” to prevent the violence or to stop it, or to save those trapped in the burning building. “The deployment of fire engines to the site of the fire had been deliberately delayed for 40 minutes, and the police had not stepped in to help evacuate people,” the decision said, adding that “negligence” of Ukrainian officials “went beyond an error of judgement and carelessness.”
What is 'beyond error and judgment"? Intentional inactivity!
The authorities also did not make “enough effort” to properly secure, collect, and assess all the evidence, according to the court. It noted that a criminal investigation against a pro-Western activist suspected of shooting at anti-Maidan protesters was discontinued four times for “identical” reasons.
The ECHR has ordered Kiev to pay all the applicants varying amounts of compensation and cover their legal costs. According to the Ukrainian media, the claimants are to receive between €12,000 and €17,000 each ($13,028 to $18,456). Ukraine has not commented on the ruling so far.
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Moscow has though...
RT
“A very belated decision, but it seems like a glimpse of common sense,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked. “To confirm this, we need to see other similar actions. Which, of course, we would like to witness.”
The pro-Maidan activists attacked a tent where local residents were gathering signatures for a referendum on the federalization of Ukraine and recognition of Russian as a state language.
Outnumbered by the far-right radicals, (neo-Nazis?) the anti-coup activists took refuge inside the city’s trade union building. However, the nationalists surrounded the building, lobbed Molotov cocktails at it, and eventually set it on fire, resulting in 48 deaths and over 200 people injured.
Ukrainian neo-Nazi leader shot dead in Odessa
Notorious Ukrainian neo-Nazi Demyan Ganul, who was accused of playing a key role in the 2014 mass killings of anti-Maidan activists in Odessa, was reportedly shot dead on Friday morning.
Ukrainian media identified Ganul as the victim of a suspected assassination in Odessa based on tattoos visible in leaked crime scene images. Police did not name Ganul when announcing a manhunt for the killer, although Interior Minister Igor Klimenko did not dispute the identification and has vowed to personally oversee the investigation.
Which is in complete contradiction to the way the investigation into the massacre was handled.
Graphic footage circulating online depicts the assailant executing an injured man in broad daylight, seemingly unperturbed by the presence of witnesses and CCTV cameras.
Ganul rose to prominence on the back of the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, leading the enforcer unit of the Right Sector ultranationalist movement in Odessa. He is alleged to have played a pivotal role in the May 2, 2014 massacre of anti-Maidan activists, who were chased by pro-coup militants into a building that was subsequently set ablaze.
On Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Ukrainian government to compensate victims of the 2014 tragedy for its failure to prevent the violence, organize a proper rescue effort, or conduct an adequate investigation.
In recent years, Ganul engaged in vandalism targeting Soviet-era memorials and Russian-linked sites. He also reportedly led a team employed by city draft officials to assault individuals resisting conscription.
Last July, Ganul showcased his attack on a fitness trainer who had insulted Ukrainian military personnel, posting a photo of himself with the bloodied victim. Local reports indicated that the trainer was also sexually assaulted before being handed over to military authorities.
Russia had sought Ganul's arrest, placing him on an international wanted list last May.
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