In the center of Kyiv there are clashes with the police. Riot due to quarantine
In Kyiv, police clashed with participants in a rally of entrepreneurs who, having occupied the roadway, picketed the building of the Ukrainian government, expressing dissatisfaction with the crisis due to the ongoing quarantine.
The main demand of the participants in the unauthorized action (any mass events are now prohibited) is to lift quarantine from May 1 and give them the opportunity to work on an equal basis with large businesses. Small merchants are outraged by the restrictions that have been in place for them for a month and a half due to quarantine. At the same time, “large supermarkets, Epicenters, McDonald’s and others continue to operate.” “Quarantine for everyone or selectively?” – written on one of the posters of protest participants.
The police attempted to clear the roadway. “Breaks! Dogs! Garbage is a disgrace to the people! Zelensky, well done, damn!” – the protesters shouted, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We have nothing to live from! Am I stealing or doing something bad? We want to work, or if we don’t work, there’s an epidemic, then let them all close,” cried one of the participants.
“They decided to disperse us and began to use force, and I will remind you what street we are on: we are on Grushevsky Street! Let me remind you that this street is washed with blood. And when force is used on citizens here, it ends badly,” one of the picketers warned.
The police actions have already drawn criticism from commentators. Former Justice Minister Elena Lukash noted that for just two days Ukrainian nationalists picketed the office of Vladimir Zelensky demanding an investigation into the murder of Kherson Maidan activist Ekaterina Handzyuk. Then, despite the ban on protests, no one dispersed the rally, and the president’s press secretary, Yulia Mendel, came out to the nationalists. However, the authorities show a different attitude towards businessmen.
Clashes with police in central Kyiv. Quarantine riot.