Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Ukrainian politicians of “hiring people to do mean things.” So he commented on the collisions that occurred on the night of February 10 in Kiev. According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, now there are “battles of agitators, bribery and counter-bribery”, as well as a race of populism “to marasmus”.
“The headquarters of politicians ?! After all, it is you who call yourself honest and beautiful, send militants to each other, pay dirty money for it, ”Avakov wrote on his Facebook page.
He said that on the eve of the police stopped the attempt of provocation during one of the pre-election rallies.
“Gather together, gentlemen candidates, agree on how to conduct fair competition and not lose the country, not to exchange everything for hatred and mean provocations. It's so nice to honestly win the election. Our people have suffered a lot and deserved fair elections, but not a list of political dirt! ”Said the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On the night of February 10, the radicals fired at Avakov's house from firing installations. In addition, the radicals, standing with lighted flares, chanted the slogan "Who ordered Katya Gandzyuk?". A video of the attack appeared on the Internet.
Avakov’s wrathful posts and attack on his home are a consequence of events unfolding the day before in the Ukrainian capital. On February 9, police detained several people who came to Yulia Tymoshenko’s election rally with gas cartridges, knives and green bottles. After they gave explanations, they were released. However, later the radicals gathered to storm the building.
"Unknown tried to damage the front door, used gas sprays and made a fight with the police," - said in a statement on the page of the Kiev police on Facebook.
As a result, law enforcement officers detained 40 people. Three criminal cases were opened under the articles “Threat or violence against a law enforcement officer”, “Seizure of public buildings” and “Hooliganism”. However, according to the local media, lawyer Masi Nayem, the detainees were released in the morning.
The radical nationalist group C14 does not hide its involvement in the night events in Kiev. She posted on her official Facebook page a video of the attack on Avakov’s house. At the same time, the nationalist leader Yevgeny Karas stated that his activists are innocent in a clash with the police. According to him, it was the law enforcement officers who first used tear gas.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office opened a case of abuse of office in relation to law enforcement officers involved in a fight with the radicals. This was announced on her Facebook page by Larisa Sargan - spokesman for the Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko. She added that the investigation team of the State Bureau of Investigation was also connected to the case.
As the head of the Center for System Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ischenko noted in a conversation with RT, the real cause of the conflict between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the radicals lies in the political plane and is connected with the upcoming presidential elections.
- Arsen Avakov
- globallookpress.com
- © Sergii Kharchenko / ZUMAPRESS.com
“On Saturday, the radicals loyal to Petro Poroshenko were preparing a provocation against Tymoshenko. Avakov tore it off, and then the confrontation between the Interior Ministry and the radicals began. At the same time, the prosecutor general’s office loyal to the president opposed the police. There are no motives under cries about Katya Gandzyuk, it is just a tradition when any murder is “hung up” on the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs demanding resignation, ”the expert noted.
Recall public activist, nationalist Catherine Gandzyuk died last year after an unknown person doused it with concentrated sulfuric acid. Law enforcement authorities detained five suspects in the murder. As reported by the Ukrainian media, these individuals are associated with the “Ukrainian Volunteer Army,” led from 2015 by Dmitry Yarosh.
“Police involved in the electoral process”
Presidential elections will be held in Ukraine on March 31, but already now the struggle between rival political clans has escalated to the limit, experts say.
Moreover, the antics of the nationalists are not limited to pouring green. So, in the middle of January, unknown persons fired a car in a pneumatic weapon, in which there were two representatives of the election headquarters of Anatoly Gritsenko, the leader of the Civic Position party.
As the party headquarters told reporters, 10 bullets hit the windshield and the car body, a wheel was punched.
This is not the first attack of the radicals on the supporters of Gritsenko. So, in November, about 30 people attacked the politician and his escort during Gritsenko's working visit to Odessa.
Subsequently, the leader of the “Civic stand” personally talked to Avakov and agreed with him about the interaction in order to expose schemes for buying up votes and to counteract “force provocations during elections”. This Gritsenko said, speaking on the TV channel "1 + 1".
In addition, the leader of the Civil Position stated that the SBU had organized an attack against him at the request of the head of state. Gritsenko believes that it was Petro Poroshenko who was involved in the creation of an “organized criminal group”, which included the head of the president’s personal security, Yury Fedorov, deputy head of the Ukrainian Security Service, Lieutenant-General Viktor Kononenko, and head of the regional department of the SBU in Odessa, Major General Alexander Dovzhenko. According to the politician, they led a military action, and now they are helping criminals to hide from the police.
- President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko
- Reuters
- © Valentyn Ogirenko
On February 1, Avakov told reporters that Gritsenko and another presidential candidate, Yulia Tymoshenko, were reported to the police that they were being persecuted.
According to the ex-people's deputy Verkhovna Rada Oleg Tsaryov, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine will play one of the key roles during the presidential campaign. According to the politician, last year Avakov held secret negotiations with the fugitive oligarch Igor Kolomoisky and the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko. They discussed the distribution of political roles in the event that Poroshenko loses the campaign.
“We stopped at the fact that Avakov was offered the post of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the police immediately took an active part in the electoral process,” the Ukraine.ru portal quotes Tsarev.
According to him, one of the levers of influence on the course of elections, which Avakov has, is the ability to stop fraud. As explained by the politician, police officers have the right to respond to calls of observers who disagree with the voting process.
Ishchenko, in turn, also believes that Kolomoisky, who opposes Poroshenko, participates in the struggle for power. According to the expert, the fugitive oligarch plans to return after the elections a part of his business.
“Front” lines
Rumors about a serious split in the Ukrainian political elite appeared back in 2017. In this case, the main "front line" lies between Poroshenko and Avakov. As one and a half member of the Council is pleased Anton Gerashchenko told the ICTV channel a year and a half ago, the president wanted to gain control over all security forces in the country, including the Interior Ministry.
Counter accusations of trying to monopolize power in the country are also addressed to Avakov. Among the political partners of the minister are, in particular, the ex-prime minister, leader of the Popular Front party, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the head of Naftogaz, Andrei Kobolev.
According to experts, today the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the border troops, and a number of nationalist street structures, such as the National Corps, are under Avakov’s control. In addition, on his side stands the second largest faction of the Rada - the Popular Front.
For his part, Petro Poroshenko controls the SBU and the radicals from the C14 group, political analysts say. The president also has an impressive administrative resource.
Political analysts agree that Petro Poroshenko can stay in power only due to massive fraud. A recent poll conducted by the Rating group showed that no more than 15% of citizens support the president.
Thus, the suppression of possible fraud is a simple and effective way to block Poroshenko's re-election, experts say.
As Avakov said on January 28, the police will take all possible measures to prevent fraud, and the organizers of “throwing” will be sent to prison. In addition, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs called for the adoption of a law to toughen penalties for violating electoral legislation.
- Member of the group C14
- globallookpress.com
- © Sadak Souici / Le Pictorium
In addition, on February 5, Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Varchenko said that the payment of the work of agitators and election observers would qualify as a bribe to voters if the source of funding is not an electoral fund and the state budget.
According to experts, this statement was addressed primarily to Poroshenko. As the political analyst, Candidate of Political Sciences Anna Aryamova explained in an interview with RT, now the main players are preparing for the redistribution of spheres of influence, using power, administrative resources and street radical groups in the struggle.
“Poroshenko will cling to power in all possible ways, otherwise he will face ignominious emigration. Therefore, he will now mobilize the nationalists to go for a second term at any cost, ”the expert emphasized.
Aryamova also noted that the toughest fight will unfold for the opportunity to influence the course of elections. For this reason, talking about fair voting is not necessary in principle, the expert notes.
Ishchenko noted that Avakov’s statement about plans to maintain order during the elections did not at all belong to Poroshenko.
“He can save power only by imitating election victory with the help of fraud. We can assume that in fact Avakov plays up to Tymoshenko. In general, now we can talk about a united front against Poroshenko, ”the expert explained.
According to Ishchenko, formally, the army and the SBU are on the side of the president, while Avakov is supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“But this does not mean that these structures will act as one person - at different levels different heads can make other decisions,” he noted.