“Balaclavas! Let's go into battle! – in Zaporozhye, nationalists threw noise grenades at the police, breaking through to Lenin (PHOTO)
Zaporizhzhia, January 31 (PolitNavigator, Alexandra Ignatyeva) – In Zaporizhzhia, representatives of the "Power of the Nation" organization are trying to break through the cordon of law enforcement officers who have surrounded the Lenin monument.
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At first, the protesters tried to hold educational conversations with the police, inviting them to throw down the “stone idol” together. “Let's shoot together. I don't mind. I am for. Let's go together. Ukraine is indivisible! But first there must be a decision of the City Council. So that everything is legal. There is a law,” one of the law enforcement officers who stood in the cordon answered them.
“We are forming columns. Balaclavas. Let’s go into battle,” called one of the leaders of the “Strength of the Nation”. While playing music, radical protesters tried to break through the cordon, but the police fired tear gas, after which the attackers retreated.
“You are being a hooligan here,” Andrey Dolinny, deputy head of the city department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, addressed them.
According to Vladimir Nechiporenko, representing the “Strength of the Nation”, the monument will be demolished - reinforcements are coming.
After smoke bombs were fired at the police, the organizers of the rally said that law enforcement officers were now preparing a clean-up operation and asked women and minors to leave the square.
By 19:00 the crowd of protesters had calmed down somewhat. Representatives of the “Power of the Nation” and UNA-UNSO agreed to hold negotiations with the authorities. According to them, if the ultimatum for demolition is not fulfilled, then next week the monument will be demolished, gathering more Cossacks and bringing reinforcements from Kyiv.
As PolitNavigator reported, today's protest to remove the monument is being called a provocation. The city is actively discussing the idea of removing it: the City Council has not yet made a decision, but is prepared to hold a local referendum.
English version :: Read in English "Balaklavas! Let's go into battle!" – Nationalists in Zaporizhzhia threw stun grenades at police while breaking through to Lenin Square (PHOTOS)