Politicians, activists attacked in Kyiv, Kharkiv

Kharkiv anti-corruption activists tried storming the City Council on Dec. 24, but were thwarted by police. They directed their aggression towards City Council Member Volodymyr Skorobahach, whom they accused of corruption and threw into a garbage bin and doused with green antiseptic. He was rushed to a hospital and diagnosed with burns to his cornea, reported the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency. Three others were injured in the incident, including a guard who suffered a fractured skull.

The same night, an explosion detonated at a furniture store in the city that belongs to a member of the Kharkiv Citizens Watch and supporter of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, reported Anton Gerashchenko, its spokesman.

A group of MPs were attacked by a thrown grenade the night of Dec. 24, not far from the parliament building, reported the Ukrayinska Pravda news site, citing a police report. A police officer was hospitalized in the attack. Among those in the group was Andriy Parubiy, the first deputy head of parliament. The report made no mention of an arrest.

Zenon Zawada: Besides the Russian-sponsored violence, Ukrainian politicians have to deal with attacks committed by their rivals. It’s not yet clear who was responsible for the attack against the MPs, which could have been the work of Russian-sponsored saboteurs. All signs point to aggressive political rivalries between Ukrainian forces remaining as big a problem as the Russian-sponsored violence, which promises turbulence and political chaos in 2015.