Murders
House of Trade Unions in Odessa. May 2, 2014.
The largest hate crime recorded during the monitored period was the mass murder in Odessa’s House of Trade Unions on May 2nd, 2014. On this day, extremist supporters of the current Kiev government, including members of the Right Sector and Kharkiv football fans, organised a procession “For Ukrainian Unity” and clashed with the supporters of federalisation. Activists on both sides were armed with weapons and firearms.
After clashes on the city streets, Maidan supporters destroyed the camp of federalisation supporters and started throwing stones and Molotov Cocktails at the House of Trade Unions, where their rivals took shelter. Right Sector activists set fire to the building and prevented federalisation supporters from leaving the burning building, shooting windows and fire escapes, killing those who jumped from windows and tried to flee. According to witness reports, attackers shot, beaten and strangled their victims. As a result, 48 people were killed, majority of whom were burned in the House of Trade Unions.
In 2015, 4 hate-motivated murders were observed. On February 1, in Kharkiv, a group of young people lured the Jordanian citizen to the house No. 34 on Svoboda Avenue, under the pretext of meeting with a girl. There, young people tortured and verbally abused the native of Jordan, eventually killing him.
On April 15, 2015, former member of the Party of Regions Oleg Kalashnikov was murdered in Kiev. He was known for moderating the so-called “anti-Maidan” in Mariinsky Park (December 2013 – February 2014), and made some inflammatory statements against Euromaidan advocates.
On April 16, 2015, journalist and author Oleg Buizn, known for his pro-Russian views, was murdered in Kiev. In June, two suspects involved in both murders have been apprehended. Both were reportedly extreme right activists. One was a member of UNSO and the Right Sector, the other was a member of Svoboda party.
On May 12, 2015, it was reported that a volunteer at QueerHome LGBT community centre was murdered in Zhitomir.
