11:15 20.07.2015

No aircraft used in searching for Right Sector militants in Zakarpattia - source

2 min read

No aircraft were used during the operation to apprehend Right Sector fighters hiding in the Mukacheve area of the Zakarpattia region; all reports to the contrary are "fakes," a source close to the operation organizers told Interfax on Sunday.

"The information about airstrikes is untrue," the source said.

The photographs ostensibly confirming the use of aircraft in Zakarpattia were made in Luhansk last summer, he said.

A number of Zakarpattia-based websites reported earlier that missile strikes were carried out by helicopters during an operation to find Right Sector militants in Zakarpattia.

It was reported that on July 11, skirmishes occurred in Mukacheve (Zakarpattia region) between the people linked to parliamentarian Mykhailo Lanio, local police and Right Sector members. According to various reports, up to four people were killed and up to 14 injured during the skirmishes.

According to the Interior Ministry, about ten Right Sector fighters had previously been hiding in the woodlands around Mukacheve; two were hospitalized. On July 16, the Ukrainian Security Service said that six more armed Right Sector members had yet to be found in the Mukacheve area.

A number of media outlets reported that the incident had been caused by the division of spheres of influence to provide protection for the contraband (in particular, cigarettes) flowing into the region.

According to one theory, the Right Sector attempted to oust Lanio's group. According to another, the Right Sector acted with the same intentions, but for parliamentarian Viktor Baloha.

On July 14 the Ukrainian parliament set up a provisional inquiry commission to investigate the incident. The commission is led by Petro Poroshenko Bloc parliamentarian Mykola Palamarchuk. All parliamentary factions and groups delegated their members to the commission.

Right Sector representatives and supporters have been staging a small protest outside the presidential administration building since the evening of July 11.

Right Sector leader and Ukrainian parliamentarian Dmytro Yarosh stated on July 17 that he had not urged his organization members hiding in Mukacheve to surrender because he did not believe the safety assurances, and if the government forces are ordered to eliminate them, the Right Sector reserves the right to defend its fighters.

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