Ukrainian police kill paramilitary leader

Ukrainian police killed on March 25 Oleksandr Muzychko, a leader of the Right Sector paramilitary forces after he allegedly resisted arrest and shot his firearm. The victim was a leader of an organized crime unit and abused his membership in the paramilitary group, said on March 25 Intenal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov. “True patriots with arms are protecting the state border and are standing at the border posts,” he said. “Those are climbing into businesses, taking over private residents are bandits, particularly when we have a situation when they have in their hands unregistered automatic rifles.”

In response, the Right Sector leadership has demanded Avakov’s resignation and the arrest of those officers who shot and killed Muzychko, who they alleged had his hands tied behind his back at the time of his murder. “We will avenge Arsen Avakov for the death of our brother,” said Roman Koval, the Right Sector coordinator in the Rivne Oblast. “The minister ordered a murder.”

In the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, the local police arrested on March 25 six Right Sector members, alleging illegal possession of firearms. They had been protesting the local police headquarters, alleging the new police chief led bridgades of state-sponsored thugs hired by the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych. They were released the same evening.

Zenon Zawada: Numerous reports have surfaced of paramilitary forces exceeding their authority following the collapse of the Yanukovych administration. Muzhychko was particularly aggressive, being recorded assaulting a state prosecutor. While we agree with any legitimate government efforts to reign in lawbreakers, the escalating conflict between the Right Sector and the current government is troubling.

It was the Right Sector that led the armed resistance to the Yanukovych administration that enabled the current politicians to come to power. Without their support, their hold on power and trust among the public could worsen. Moreover, the Russian government and the Yanukovcyh clan could exploit such divisions to undermine the stability of the current government and even retake control over Ukraine.