As part of the negotiations on the exchange of held persons in September - December 2019, Russia insisted that Ukraine hand over at least nine persons who had organized pro-Russian separatist riots in Odesa, that's according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In a commentary on the tragic events in Odesa of May 2, 2014, MFA's press service recalled that those events became another element in the chain of Russian provocations in the framework of the failed "Novorossiya" project aimed at destabilizing the Ukrainian east and south and the disintegration of Ukraine.
The ministry emphasized that Ukrainian law enforcement are doing everything possible to find and prosecute those responsible for the crimes committed on that tragic day, with 37 indictments having been forwarded to court and three sentences handed down.
Read alsoSecurity agency prevents provocations of pro-Russian forces in Odesa
The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a separate pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings regarding the possible involvement of Russian intelligence in masterminding the Odesa riots.
"The only party that is clearly not interested in establishing an objective picture of the tragic events in Odesa and the reasons that led to the tragedy is Russia. Not only did Russia shelter one of the main suspects in the investigation, former deputy chief of Odesa police D. Fuchedzhi, they also granted him Russian citizenship, reports say, and denied an extradition request under this pretext," the foreign ministry noted.
MFA Ukraine has called on the international community to pursue joint efforts to counter Russian propaganda and misinformation, which are an important element of Russian aggression and destabilizing actions directed against Ukraine and other democracies.
UNIAN memo. On May 2, 2014, as a result of mass riots in Odesa involving pro-Russian separatists and pro-Ukrainian activists, 48 people were killed and nearly 300 injured. Clashes broke out in the city center, where several people were shot.
Then pro-Ukrainian activists moved to the Kulikovo field, where separatists had set up a tent camp. The tents caught fire and then a blaze broke out in the Trade Unions' House, where more people died.
