Members of the radical Right Sector party and Azov battalion organized a procession in central Kyiv to mark an anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
About 1,000 people gathered in the evening in Shevchenko Park near the Kyiv National University and set off for Independence Square, an Interfax reporter said. They were planned to move on from there to Mykhailivska Square and finish the march there.
The marchers included men in camouflage uniforms and members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps who had had taken part in the military operation in eastern Ukraine. Some of the participants were holding Ukrainian and Right Sector flags. Flares were fired.
The marchers were chanting “Glory to Ukraine, glory to heroes,” “Heroes never die,” “Ukraine over everything,” and other slogans.
A press release handed out to journalists said Right Sector and Azov demanded the legalization of all volunteer battalions, higher pay to armed forces personnel and better social security for all participants in the eastern Ukrainian military operation and for their families.
Traffic was blocked on central streets because of the march.
Practically simultaneously, about 1,500 people were holding a march in Kharkiv commemorating the UPA and soldiers killed in the military operation in eastern Ukraine.
Before the procession, its organizers asked participants who were wearing balaclavas to take them off and not to use any pyrotechnic equipment during the march, which was going to proceed from Constitution Square to Freedom Square through the city’s central street.
Those present sang the national anthem before setting off.
Numerous police and members of Interior Minister paramilitary units were accompanying the marchers.
