National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Prosecutor office protests turn violent

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau was attacked
on Tuesday, July 17. Ukrayinska Pravda reports that protesters, including some
claiming to be ATO vets or Socialist Party members, entered the building and
destroyed surveillance cameras in the public part of the building. They then
broke into the restricted part of the building and demanded NABY director Artem
Sytnyk come out to them so they could deliver an appeal to him. Police
responded promptly and removed the protestors, stated National Police spokesman
Yaroslav Trakolo.

Meanwhile, another group protesting peacefully outside
a prosecutor’s office was attacked. Ukrayinska Pravda reports these attackers
as being provocateurs with the Socialist Party, though no mention of this is
made in reporting by RFE/RL. The head of the Anticorruption Action Center NGO,
Vitaliy Shabunin, had green antiseptic, commonly called ‘zelyonka’, poured on
his head.

James Hydzik: These attacks highlight one of the most visible problems for Ukraine’s
government and society in the short- and mid-term: that there are not just
these events, but also underlying issues of provocateurs within organizations
as well as whole groups funded in order to cause disruptions for personal or
clan gain. Kremlin-funded disruption is a proven issues, but
domestically-originated and focused groups also use the same methods, and it
should be remembered.