Shootout in western Ukraine kills at least two people; risk of wider conflict exists

The chaotic shooting, located less than an hour away from Hungary, occurred around 2 p.m., and injured at least 11 more people.

A video depicting a Right Sector insurgent summarizing the shootout
events that took place in Mukacheve on July 11.

“A major tragedy occurred in Mukachevo today. A group of
15-20! people arrived at the location which had to do with the Ukraine’s member
of parliament that had sobering experience from the 90’s – Mykhaylo Lanyo,”
wrote Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Interior Ministry, on
Facebook.

Prosecutors in Zakarpatya Oblast say that there
were 20 people dressed in camouflage suits with signs of Right Sector on their
clothes and vehicles. It says that the Right Sector members were meeting with
some locals in a café to redistribute power.

“After this the mentioned individuals… began the shooting,”
the prosecutor reports.

The local police, the report says, then came to the scene and blocked
the entrance to the café after which the armed individuals opened fire at the
police using such weapons as rocket-propelled grenade launchers and Kalashnykov
automatic rifles. The remaining shooters were hiding in a forest plantation.

But according to the Right Sector’s official website, Lanyo, a former member of the Party of Regions, is said to have tried
to use force against members of the right-wing group.

“We demand: the immediate public arrest of deputy Lanyo, that
was directly involved in the events, all of the bandits and security forces
that opened fire and who gave the orders,” the Right Sector wrote.

Mustafa Nayyem, member of parliament and former journalist, who
as of late July 11 was in Mukachevo, wrote on his Facebook page that
redistribution of the cigarette smuggling business was the likely reason for the
conflict between the two groups.

At around 8:30 p.m. Gerashchenko posted on his Facebook
page that the situation has stabilized and remained under control. “The
situation should be fully resolved during the next couple of hours.”

The Right Sector’s member Oleksiy Byk announced on his
Facebook wall an “indefinite” protest strike which is intended to take place
near the president’s administration in Kyiv. The group also announced “alarm
mobilization” of its members.

Parliamentarian Iryna Friz, a member of the Bloc of Petro
Poroshenko, wrote on her Facebook page that the event shows that the government
must implement harsh measures in stopping gangs outside of the anti-terrorist
operation zone.

“I am confident, that during the anti-terrorist operation in
the country’s east, the combat with gangs in the country must occur with fire
until exterminated,” wrote Friz. There should be zero tolerance to such
behavior, she said. “If people with weapons will start substituting with their
unlawful actions the functions of the law enforcement, then we will lose our
nation, since chaos will take over everywhere.”

The politician said that a “Russian footprint” could also be
possible in the incident.

Kyiv Post staff writer Ilya Timtchenko can be
reached at [email protected].