The attackers, many of whom wore St. George’s medals around their necks or sported the Russian tri-colored ribbons, ran ahead, lashing out at those with whom they caught up.
Participants in the event reported that the police guarding the demonstration did not even try to resist the attackers. Videos show that this was not entirely the case. The police put up a tacit resistance, creating a wall of shields that lined the street which the attackers avoided. There were constant orders “Do not attack the police!” and generally the fighters and police officers behaved neutrally against one another.
The rally began to be brutally disbanded. The attackers threw firecrackers which disoriented people and beat people with iron pipes and bats, even those lying on the ground.
Videos posted online show that the line of attackers was formed in front of the occupied regional administration building and cries of “Russia!” and “Well done!” could be heard among the assembled crowd after the announcement of a “successfully completed operation” (VIDEO 1; VIDEO 2).
When the procession had been dispersed, the attackers began to comb the nearby yards, catching and beating those who had participated in the march for a united Ukraine.
According to official information, fourteen people sought medical attention in the local hospital. However, it appears that there were many more victims, many of whom did not want to make their injuries “official”.
It is important to note that at a press conference the next day with Alexander Lukyanchenko, the head of the administration of Donetsk, it was stated that, “the police managed to arrest participants in the conflict, all of which were activists of the Donetsk People’s Republic.” The deputy chief of the city police department, A. Kisko, said, “Of course they are denying that they caused any injuries, but nevertheless, their presence at the rally gives us the right to bring them to justice. We are currently deciding if they will be charged with criminal or administrative liability, but obviously they will all be brought to justice.” (VIDEO)
One can only hope that such words amount to more than an empty promise.
***
During the time in which mission representatives found themselves in Donetsk, the only street action not orchestrated by supporters of the PRD is the daily prayer for peace and tranquility in Ukraine, which takes place from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm and is conducted by a group of priests and adherents to different faiths (mostly Christian, but occasionally Muslims attend as well).
The prayer is held about one kilometer from Lenin Square at the base of a bridge over a reservoir. Organizers are there from 12:00 pm to install a tent and prepare for a call to prayer for peace in Ukraine. Generally, a few dozen people attend the prayer itself. The daily prayer began after the events of March 13th. Initially, a Ukrainian flag stood next to the prayer tent. However, after a few instances of violent aggression, they were forced to discontinue the raising of the flag. Surprisingly, someone hung the flag of Ukraine at the top of one of the many granite columns situated at the base of the bridge.
Situation of the Mass Media
Many media outlets are under pressure from PRD militants. The most well-known instances relate to the attacks on television broadcasting stations and the switching off of Ukrainian channels, but there have been other instances as well.
A typical example is the case of the newspaper “Province”, which has been published in Kostiantynivka since 1990 (one of the first private newspapers to be registered in the USSR). On April 30th, an advance edition of the next issue was confiscated at a checkpoint. The next edition was delivered to Konstaninovka on May 7th after having bypassed the checkpoint. On the morning of May 8th, armed men in masks stormed the editorial office, confiscated the keys and announced that the Donetsk Republic was closing down the paper (Article - Konstantinovka).
On May 10th, representatives of the PRD announced a compromise – the newspaper could continue to be published, but had to change its editorial policies (Article - Konstantinovka).
On May 12th, a statement was published on the newspaper’s website beginning with the words, “The events of recent days in the Donetsk region, and relating to our publication in particular, have forced us to rethink the political ‘program’, which we have long considered to be our beliefs. We are all human and everyone has their own set of beliefs. However, our main mistake was that we didn’t confine ourselves to sharing our opinions with our friends and those close to us, but shared them with our readers as well (Article - Konstantinovka).
Another example is the closure of the “Miner” newspaper in Torez. During the evening on May 6th, at about 10:00 pm, a large group of masked men, armed with sticks and bats, came to the office of the local city paper, founded by the Torez city council, and began destroying everything in its path.
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