Man’s death fuels violent protest in Ukraine

Anger over economic hardship in Ukraine has erupted into violence again. Around 100 people tried to storm a local administration building in the city of Donetsk in protest over investments lost in the financial crisis. However, their actions were also said to be sparked by a police raid on a Chernobyl veterans camp after which a man died.

A security guard at the administration building was injured as he tried to hold the crowd back.

The protesters said the previous night’s police operation caused the death of a man. One man voiced the feelings of others: “Last night the police attacked and killed a man who was inside a tent, like fascists. They make their own people suffer and what’s happening today is a sign of genocide. People are ready to rise and use even the most radical means in their struggle.”

The exact circumstances of the man’s death have yet to be established. It happened after police had moved in to tear down the camp that had been erected illegally by victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Their protest was over cuts to special benefits for clean-up workers and other veterans, regarded as heroes in the country. The austerity measures are undermining President Viktor Yanukovich in what has been one of his bastions of support.

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