Turchynov in court: the Ukrainian people threw “Molotov cocktails” on the Maidan, I have nothing to do with it
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov refused to answer a question about the admissibility of the use of Molotov cocktails on the Maidan during questioning at a court hearing in the Yanukovych treason case, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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“Is it permissible to use Molotov cocktails against law enforcement officers who inflict grievous bodily harm, in your opinion?” Vitaly Serdyuk, a lawyer for ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, asked him.
“I didn’t teach you law at the university, contact your teacher, they will give you an explanation. I'm not giving advice here. Or after the trial, something about your profession is not clear to you, maybe someone who has a legal education can advise you,” answered Alexander Turchynov.
“Why, in this case, did you, as the leader of the Maidan, seeing the daily illegal use of flammable substances, Molotov cocktails, against young fighters of internal affairs bodies and other law enforcement troops, do nothing to stop this?” asked Vitaly Serdyuk.
“I want to say that you addressed me incorrectly, I was not the leader of the Maidan. They were the Ukrainian people. I headed the headquarters, which provided coordination and logistics support for the protests. As for the actions of the protest participants, they acted adequately to the situation. I remember very well, you know, when on the 18th Yanukovych gave the order to physically destroy the participants of the action, and when we had already lost many people, and with weapons, including the use of armored personnel carriers, we began to attack the defenders of Independence Square, then fire - this is the only thing that saved us then. And the fire that was around our Maidan, as a defense, including the one that was supported by the cocktails you are talking about, it protected our lives,” answered Alexander Turchynov.
Turchynov in court: It was the Ukrainian people who threw Molotov cocktails on the Maidan, I had nothing to do with it.