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The Odessa massacre took place on the evening of May 2 2014 when 42 pro-Federalist and pro-Russian activists according to official sources were trapped inside a trade union building and killed when the building was set on fire.

Update May 2016  

It started when Right Sector activists with fascist roots and football fans for Ukrainian unity decided to march towards a pro-Federalist and pro-Russian camp at the Kulikovo square after violent clashes had occurred in the city centre. They arrived without meeting any resistance during the way. The tent camp was immediately burnt to the ground while the occupiers tried to barricade themselves in the building close to the camp. The building was attacked from many sides by molotov cocktails and especially the entrances so people inside could not come out. People on the roof of the house throw molotov cocktails at the attackers. Many died inside the building or when trying to jump from windows escaping the fire. Witnesses also claim people were killed by Pro Ukrainian provocateurs inside the building. While many people during the massacre continued to harass those trapped inside others tried to help. New York Time writes: "As the building burned, Ukrainian activists sang the Ukrainian national anthem, witnesses on both sides said. They also hurled a new taunt: “Colorado” for the Colorado potato beetle, striped red and black like the pro-Russian ribbons. Those outside chanted “burn Colorado, burn,” witnesses said. Swastikalike symbols were spray painted on the building, along with graffiti reading “Galician SS,” though it was unclear when it had appeared, or who had painted it."

All the survivors of the massacre inside the building were arrested or sent to hospital. Noone of those that set the protest camp and building on fire  has been arrested. The governor has claimed that those that committed the massacre committed a lawful act.

This caused severe protests and the police custody was surrounded by protesters resulting in the release of those detained May 4. The central government reacted against this release of those from the attacked building and an order of rearrest was issued. The EU have demanded that a independent investigation is made indicating lack of confidence in Ukrainian authorities.

Local background

A manifestation both for a more federal Ukraine and Pro Russian demands had taken place during several weeks at the Kulikovo Square in front of a large trade union building. A pro-Ukraine unity protest site also was used at the Duke monument in honour of Richelieu. During the day a football fan march took place in central Kiev which was supported by Right Sector activists with helmets and riot equipment. They were confronted by a smaller group of Pro Russian activists were some also had helmets and riot equipment. Clashes occurred and a handful people were killed on both sides. Sources defending each side claim the other side as guilty of the clashes. Non biased sources claim both sides were armed and people were killed on both sides. The confrontation between the two opposing groups ended when the outnumbered Pro Russian activists abandoned the battle field. In total 4 persons were killed according to official sources.

Timeline

Odessa May 2 videos

Controversial issues

Number of people killed.

The official number of people killed were at the beginning 4 people in the clashes and 31 people at the building. By May 6 it is 46 dead in total according to official sources, some witnesses claim there were many more were killed inside the building. 

Russians and Transnistrian people or only Ukrainians?

Official sources claimed directly after the massacre that among the victims inside the building were many Russians and people from the separatist republic Transnistr in Moldova. The list of victims now published includes no such persons, only people from Odessa.

Who is guilty of the massacre?

At first Russians and Transnistrian activists were claimed to have caused the attack as part of a Russian plan to destabilize Ukraine. Later Ministry of Interior Affairs believed that members of Euromaidan were not involved in the fire at the Trade Union building. Both governmental and Euromaidan sources emphasise that the fire started from inside. A video from the attack on the occupied square and the building being attacked by pro-Ukrainian activists shows a smaller fire starting on the 3rd floor (4th including the basement). At the same time there is also a fire at the entrance of the building. The building was also attacked from behind. Euromaidan published a text claiming one of the sources for putting the building on fire was "carelessly hurled Molotov cocktails." by the defenders.

Swedish Foreign minister Carl Bildt was one of the first international people blaming what happened in Odessa on pro-Russians attempt at occupying a building. “Horrible with at least 38 dead in Odessa . Seems to have started with pro-Russian attempt to get control of buildings.” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter. Earlier, Bildt blamed “pro-Russian thugs” for the street violence in Odessa. To those supporting the government in Kiev brought victims of the massacre of 42 people the death onto themselves. In the most extreme case the Swedish foreign minister invents a non-existent cause indicating that pro-Russians were part of an attempt to take over buildings as in many other cities in South East Ukraine, so far from reality that no other source has gone that far to to invent a reason for how the massacre was selfimposed.

The foremost Ukrainian politicians claimed that the massacre was a terrorist attack committed by Russian saboteurs connected to some local authorities while praising as heroes those that took part in the action against the trade union building:

Presidential candidate Poroshenko

“Today, in closed session of Parliament, we obtained additional evidence that what happened, the events that took place in the Trade Union building, was a terrorist act. Toxic substances were used,” said Poroshenko.

According to Poroshenko, an examination by international experts soon will prove that most people did not die as a result of the fire. He stressed that it was a special provocation conducted with the participation of Russian saboteurs and certain local authorities, who are involved in the organization and financing of these events.

Presidential candidate Timoshenko

"The brave sons of Ukraine who lost their lives defending Ukraine today are in our hearts and souls. They have become the standard bearers of my struggle to defend Ukraine from now and into the future. They will be in my thoughts as I carry on the struggle for the unity, peace and independance of our beloved country."

The survivors of the massacre claim that the right sector was strongly involved in the attack. Borotba, a left wing party that opposed the former president Janukovich and had one of its members killed in the house claim that early the same day "From the very beginning ... well-equipped paramilitaries could be seen. They had shields, helmets, bats, traumatic and service weapons. Mostly - men about 30-40 years old who were evidently not football fans. Some of them had shields where it was written: ’14-th hundred of Maidan self-guard’ ". This can also be seen from videos when the trade union building is attacked. One of claimed identified the attackers well equipped with protective gear and a gun in his hand is shooting at the building while he at the same place and almost the same time talks to media by phone claiming he and the people around the building are all peaceful. His name is Mykola, a well known leader of the Maidan self defence.

Furthermore Borotba claims that the operation was organized by the government in close cooperation with the right sector Maidan self defence: "Kiev junta has openly set a course toward violence and carnage against their political opponents. And the tools of this brutal violence are neo-Nazi militants – those who act closely with the secret police, who are well-armed and being financed by the oligarchy."

Also international press claims the the right sector was present during the attack on the trade union building. The Russian left wing activist Boris Kagarlitski who have been sent to prison for political reasons both during Soviet times and in the new Russia summarizes his view: "spontaneous violence during street clashes is one thing, while acts of vengeance, permitted and approved by the authorities and justified through propaganda, are something very different. Such phenomena are a distinctive mark of a totalitarian political movement and of its ideology. While a democratic movement condemns such excesses and strives to overcome them, fascism elevates them to the heroic, justifying and even institutionalising them."

The photos of corpses inside the building

Pictures of corpses inside the trade union building has been published on the internet showing molested bodies, some burnt, some injured in other ways. So far these pictures autencity has not been question. What has been questioned is that a women bent across a table and killed apparently in a brutal manner really was pregnant. However the people inside the building died and what the pictures who there are pictures of people carried away from the building with their heads beaten full of blood which is not the cause of either suffocating from gas or by jumping from the windows but more likely by being severely beaten.

False flag operation

There are numerous accusation from opposing sides that what took place was actually a false flag operation conducted by Russia or directly by the government in Kiew. Witnesses inside the building claim they came under attack by pro-Ukrainian activists that used a strange gas to and shot people. In the window were a small fire started inside the building which Euromaidan sources claim was the beginning of the fire that burnt down the building later an Ukrainian flag was waved at the surrounding activists.

During the clashes in the city center numerous people wearing a red band among the pro-Russian activists, some with weapons, including a few policemen is seen on the streets and some on the roof tops. Some of these are shooting at pro-Ukrainian activists. Most are gone at the trade union building but one person with a red band can be seen throwing molotov cocktails from the roof.

Both sides have pointed at the use of the strange gas and people with red bands as signs of a false flag operation. That agent provocateurs from different strands were present in Odessa is fully possible. The strange gas or as Poroshenko says toxic substance is for both sides a sign that the Ukrainian government in alliance with the right sector is behind the attack while for those of opposed opinion it is a sign of a Russian operation. The close relation between those with red band and some of the police force is seen by some as a conspiracy against the Antimaidan movement while most sees it as a sign of a cooperation between pro-Russian activists and local police.

Summary

Two confrontations took place in Odessa on May 2, the first was a street clash with a limited number of people killed on both sides. The other was something different were a large group were some came from outside were attacking a far smaller group of local activists including many that not had been present in the earlier clash but represented a sign of permanent protest against the acting government of Ukraine. The clashes earlier that day cannot justify the massacre at the Kulikovo field and the trade union building if or if not the first shot came from the pro-Russian side in the clashes. The various accusations of a false flag operation or cooperation between local police or national security authorities and some protesters does not change to overall picture. Nor does the fact that some members of self defence groups tried to help the people inside once the attack on the camp and building had been successful. The massacre was not a tragedy but the result of an overwhelming large mob reasonably for its act directly influenced by the right sector. That it was possibly provoked by national authorities or pro-Russian activists does not change who was the main responsible for the killing of the 42 people at the Kulikovo square. 

More link than those below will follow

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/02/ukraine-dead-odessa-building-fire

http://borotba.org/neo-nazi_terror_in_odessa-_more_than_40_killed-_hundreds_injured.html

http://networkedblogs.com/WIbk1

http://peopleandnature.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/no-one-wants-to-die/

http://peopleandnature.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/darkness-in-may-a-socialist-eye-witness-in-odessa/

Euromaidan PR soruces:

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/07/former-odessa-oblast-police-chief-fuchedzhi-flees-ukraine-placed-on-wanted-list/

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/10/moscow-journalist-says-there-was-no-pregnant-woman-in-odesa-trade-unions-building/#more-8734

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/05/world/europe/kievs-reins-weaken-as-chaos-spreads.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/02/pro-ukrainian-march-in-odesa-turns-deadly-pro-russian-separatists-attack-activists-and-trade-unions-building-set-on-fire/#more-8165

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/03/odessa-am-2-mai-2014-foto-video/#more-8204

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/03/odessa-vermutlich-35-tote-wahrend-der-heutigen-zusammenstose/#more-8198

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/03/ein-stadtrat-aus-moskau-berichtet-uber-die-heutigen-vorgange-in-odessa/#more-8182

http://maidantranslations.com/2014/05/04/summary-of-events-in-odesa-may-2-2014/

http://maidantranslations.com/2014/05/04/dmitry-tymchuk-events-in-odesa-may-2-2014/

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/03/russian-citizens-detained-in-odesa-riots/

http://maidantranslations.com/2014/05/03/yulia-tymoshenko-the-invasion-will-be-stopped-force-will-be-resisted/

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/06/mia-believes-pro-ukraine-activists-not-involved-in-the-odesa-fire/

The Ministry of Interior Affairs believes that members of Euromaidan (pro-Ukraine activists – Ed.) were not involved in the fire at the Trade Union building in Odesa, May 2, that killed several dozen people, according to Odesa journalist Illya Azar, who cites Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Chebotar in his Facebook posting, May 6. Azar’s report on the conversation with Chebotar is reported by Ukrainska Pravda.

According to Azar, Chebotar told him that the fire at the Trade Union building definitely began on the upper floors. Moreover, according to police, it started as a result of actions taken by those inside — possibly “a Molotov cocktail in a cage fell down and the fire started,” Chebotar explained.

“The fire did not start at the bottom, and the self-defense or the ‘Right Sector’ are not to blame for the fire,” Azar quotes Chebotar. “According to him (Chebotar), the bodies in the Trade Union building generally do not have gunshot wounds. For the most part, people there died of suffocation (a few burned). He said that ammunition, weapons, and Molotov cocktails were inside the building, and he considers the people inside the building extremists,” Azar says.

According to Chebotar, none of those who surrounded the Trade Union building came inside and no fighting took place between the Maidan supporters and the anti-Maidan (pro-Russian) group inside the building. “The provocations with gunfire in the center of the city were started by the anti-Maidan militants,” Azar cites Chebotar.

As previously reported, the prosecutor for the Odesa Oblast, Ihor Borshulyak, had reported earlier that, as a result of the clashes and fire in the Trade Union building in Odesa, 46 people died, more than 200 sought medical care, including 20 police members.

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/04/pro-ukrainische-aktivisten-versuchen-separatisten-aus-dem-brennenden-gebaude-zu-retten/#more-8280

The article in German comments a video showing how people surrounding the building try to help those inside before the fire brigade arrives. While the try to help someone throws dishes from above while another tries to throw a molotovcocktail into the building. The author akcnowledge that some people harass those  inside when they come out but most people are more concerned about that people survive. Someone is quoted that we t´do not need the hundreds, the name of the Maidan selfdefence grousp, we can handle this ourselves.

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/04/timeline-of-events-in-odesa-on-02-05-2014/

http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/05/06/the-odesa-disaster/#more-8459

For me the most suspicious are the photos of the victims inside. What do you do when a building is on fire? You race to the escapes, right, you race to the windows to get out. In this case we have the horrible photo of a pregnant woman bent over backwards over a desk, who died basically “on the spot” clearly not from fire or smoke and with a window almost within reach. We have bodies strewn around in the most unusual places, with their faces burnt and the lower parts of their body not, clearly the result of individual fires put artificially on each and every of the victims, and you have plenty of victims who have been shot dead with a bullet straight into their face.

In addition, we have videos that clearly show fire inside the building that cannot be the cause of Molotov cocktails from outside. It is not big fire – but it is clearly visible. Is this the fire that was created on each and every individual body inside?

I would not be surprised – rather, I am pretty convinced – this was a special operation of the FSB, a provocation aimed at getting a large number of victims, and unfortunately for them the fire did not spread enough and as a result the fact that it was artificial, man-made and deliberate could not be concealed.

http://maidantranslations.com/2014/05/06/some-comparisons-between-maidan-and-antimaidan-in-odesa/

March 6 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/06/pro-russian-militias-are-roaming-odessa.html

Darkness in May. A socialist eye-witness in Odessa + Ukraine – What happened in Odessa? Elements of debates Gabriel Levy, 4.5