Nationalists protest extradition of alleged paramilitary fighter

A few hundred Ukrainian nationalists held a raucous protest
on Sept. 17 outside the Prosecutor General of Ukraine’s office after it decided
to extradite a Russian citizen. Timur Tumgoyev, a native of the Ingushetia
region, fought against Russian forces in Syria, according to the Security
Service of Russia (FSB). Ukrainian nationalists claim that he also fought
against Russian forces in Ukraine, though the prosecutor general’s office
denies that.

Tumgoyev failed to provide any evidence that he fought
for Ukraine in Donbas during the two-year extradition process, Prosecutor
General Yuriy Lutsenko told a press conference. “We are not handing over to the
enemy those who fought for Ukraine, yet we also can’t turn Ukraine into a
cesspool of criminal elements that are leaving Russia en masse to us.” The
nationalists aren’t convinced by such claims, demanding Lutsenko’s resignation
for his alleged cooperation with Russia.

Police used tear gas and water cannons against the
protestors after they attempted to vandalize the building and used their own
tear gas sprays against police, Kyiv Police reported on its Facebook page.
Protestors also stormed the building, attempted to rip off doors, waved clubs
at police and threw rocks and cobblestones. Seven officers were injured during
the protest, Kyiv Police said. In addition, protestors assaulted a reporter
with NewsOne, a Russian-oriented television channel.

Zenon Zawada: Deep
resentments among Ukraine’s pro-Western forces have a tendency to erupt out in
the open, as with this instance. It will be dangerous for Ukrainian statehood
if these resentments boil over during the 2019 elections.

The images of the prosecutor general’s office under
siege by nationalists only benefit the Russian propaganda machine. They serve
the Kremlin’s strategy of using the Ukrainians to undermine their own cause for
independence.