A group of pro-Russia activists has stormed the police headquarters in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa and released scores of prisoners detained at the scene of deadly violence on Friday that culminated in people being burned alive in a trade union building.
In the pouring rain, men armed with clubs battered their way into the building through a vehicle entrance.
Ranks of riot police offered no resistance. When crowds burst into the compound and began smashing windows and wrecking police vans, officers agreed to release the activists.
Men and women, many in tears, emerged from the door of their cell block and left through a tunnel of cheering supporters. Local police said later that 67 people were set free.
"The police did not interfere," said Maksim, 26, an activist wearing a balaclava and a helmet who was one of the first to get inside the compound. "They are only defending their weapons."
Residents and government officials in Kiev have criticised the police, accusing them of fatal passivity during the violence in the Black Sea city.
More than 40 people were killed on Friday during street battles that escalated until pro-Ukraine activists launched a full-scale assault on the trade union building. It was defended by people opposed to the current regime and in favour of closer ties with Moscow.
The Ukrainian prime minister, Arsniy Yatsenyuk, told the BBC that Odessa's security forces were responsible for the deaths.
"I personally blame the security services and law enforcement office for doing nothing," he said. "[They] are inefficient and they violated the law."
Yatsenyuk, who was reportedly due to visit Odessa yesterday, also said that the region's police chief had been dismissed.
Those inside the compound said that there was a lot of sympathy for the pro-Russia cause among lower-ranking police offers. "The police are with us," said Mikhail, 21, who had just been released.
One activist said that he had personally witnessed how police had covered pro-Russia fighters during street battles on Friday.
As prisoners were set free, the crowd chanted: "Odessa is a Russian city" and "Heroes, heroes, heroes!". Many expressed outrage that those who had escaped being burned alive in the trade union building had ended up in jail, while their attackers had not been arrested.
"The [event on] 2 May was a genocide of Russian people," said Timur, 28, who joined in the attack on the police station.
The trade union building was opened to the public on Sunday. Detritus from Friday's battle, including baseball bats, helmets, shields, petrol canisters and children's nappies apparently used to bandage wounds, were scattered around it. Broken glass covered the floor and pools of dried blood were still visible in several rooms.
Source: TheGuardian
