Former Russian MP killed amid Kharkiv arsenal fire, Donbas warring

Denis Voronenkov, a former Russian Duma MP who acquired Ukrainian citizenship, was killed on March 23 in central Kyiv by an assassin identified by authorities as a Ukrainian law enforcement officer who served as a Russian special service agent. He was shot and died within hours of the incident by Voronenkov’s bodyguard, who was injured. Voronenkov testified in the Ukrainian government’s treason criminal case against former President Yanukovych. The assassination is related to the sabotage at the Balakliya artillery arsenal in the Kharkiv region, the president’s spokesman said on Facebook.

The same day, authorities reported that a military commissar arrested for accepting a bribe was founded in possession of a Russian government rubber stamp.

The Balakliya artillery arsenal continued burning and setting off explosions on March 23, with Prime Minister Groysman announcing that the blaze would last for another week. He estimated half of the 138,000 tons of artillery – stored on 368 hectares – is affected by the fire, while authorities said the intensity of the explosions had declined by the evening of March 23. Besides the criminal investigation opened for sabotage, Groysman mentioned negligence as a possible cause. The evacuation zone was expanded to a ten kilometer radius from three kilometers. So far, 20,000 have been evacuated, with only one woman reported to have suffered injuries and no casualties.

Military fighting continued in the Donbas region on March 23, in which three Ukrainian soldiers were injured amid 43 artillery shellings, including Grad rapid-fire missile launchers. This morning, military authorities reported 94 shellings, also involving the Grad launchers, grenade launchers and mortars. Meanwhile, four Ukrainian soldiers received burns in an explosion in a building in the Luhansk region.

Zenon Zawada: These recent events reveal the failure of the Poroshenko administration to provide adequate national security amid the Russian’s government campaign to destabilize Ukraine. They reveal the Russian government’s success in infiltrating Ukrainian military and law enforcement structures. They further undermine the public’s trust and confidence in the government, which is low.

Coupled with the trade blockade launched by activists last month (and taken over by the government last week), the country is at its lowest stability level since early 2015. The country is in a very precarious position. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi claimed the Presidential Administration is considering early elections, but the problem is that there’s no political force that enjoys any serious support from the public. Until some kind of political breakthrough, there is a risk that chaotic events to continue in Ukraine.