Ukrainian nationalists from “C14“ attacked the “Megamarket” retail network. This happened after one of them quarrelled with the security guards of the shopping center.
It turned out to be Andrey Medvedko is one of two persons suspected of murdering the writer Oles Buzina. He, by a court decision, is still at large.
After the conflict between the nationalist and the security guards, his “brothers in arms” blocked the work of the shop. The Ukrainian “Strana” news agency tried to understand the conflict.
Getting it hot
The scandal happened at the “Megamarket” in Nyvky in Kiev on May 3rd. Medvedko spoke about it on Facebook.
According to him, in the supermarket he bought nuts, a fig, and mineral water, then he went to the second floor, to the cafe of the Butterfly movie theater. There he sat down on a sofa and started to eat the food he had brought with himself.
After this a security guard approached Medvedko and told him that he couldn’t eat here. Probably, he meant that it is forbidden to bring food and drink in to the cafe. But the radical refused to interrupt his meal and suggested to call the administrator.
According to Medvedko, instead of the administrator, the security guard brought several of his colleagues, and they started to remove him from the cafe by force.
“They put my arms behind my back and, in the style of Berkut, they brought me down from the second floor, brought me out of Megamarket, and dragged me out to the yard.
I stopped being cheerful and started to be afraid because they dragged me far.
I was obliged to defend myself a little and to talk in a quiet business tone. We went our separate ways using amicable expressions,” Medvedko reported and posted a video of the conflict.
After the incident Medvedko called his “brothers in arms” and police, and also wrote a statement. But it wasn’t limited to this. “Tomorrow there will be revenge,” wrote the ultra-right winger in the evening on May 4th.
Blocking the work of Megamarket
The next day – on March 5th – “C14” carried out a rally in the shopping center, where about 100 of their supporters came.
As was reported by eye-witnesses and the media, the nationalists organised a “patrol” on all floors of the Megamarket, where they looked for the security guards who removed Medvedko.
Also “C14” demanded from the administration of the shop to give the footage from surveillance cameras to the police. The administration, however, refused, referring to the fact that they are obliged to do this only by a court’s decision. This did not suit the nationalists.
Employees of the shopping center said that the radicals threatened them and insulted them.
“What happened today is absolute lawlessness. A person who, it seems, has some weight (‘C14’) personally told me that he personally slashes such bastards like me, and also pregnant women,” said the representative of the Butterfly movie theater where the incident happened, as quoted by the ZiK TV channel.
The next day “C14” appeared suddenly in the central office of Megamarket, and then blocked the work of the shop in the center of Kiev on Antonovicha Street.
They started to approach all cash desks with a large number of goods, and then when they were already scanned, refused to complete the purchase. This blocked the work of cash desks. They called this action “Cancelling security”.
At the same time, the head of “C14” Evgeny Karas offered 3000 hryvnia for the “head” of each security guard who attacked their colleague. And the nationalists already published the data of one of them.
Sergey Mazur, who committed a pogrom at a Romani camp on Lysaya Gora. He reported that one of the security guards was found, and that “soon Menson (the nickname of Medvedko) will become more acquainted with him”.
It is interesting that the police do not react at all to the events happening in relation to the shop and does not comment on the incident. And the administration of Megamarket claims that it is investigating the event itself and will punish the culprits.
Why in reality Megamarket was attacked
The lack of reaction from police officers is most likely caused by the fact that so far it hasn’t been proven that a criminal offence happened. Medvedko himself was not injured. There are no signs of being beaten up on him, and it is also unknown whether some assault actually happened.
Most likely there was a skirmish, usual for radicals, which they used as an excuse to attack the shopping center and an opportunity in theory to take compensation from businessmen.
The transition of the “work” of “C14” to such tactics can mean that soon the nationalists may be removed from the allowance of the SBU. Even the Ministry of Internal Affairs connects the organisation of Evgeny Karas to the work of the SBU and the Presidential Administration. But after Poroshenko’s defeat in the election and the imminent replacement of the leadership of the SBU, “hungry days” may await “C14”.
Probably, that’s why nationalists decided to attack prosperous businesses in the capital.
In this light, the situation looks extremely scandalous for the image of Kiev. One of the largest retail chain stores is openly terrorised by radicals, and the instigator is also a suspect in a resonant murder case.
All this moral terror happens in the face of law enforcement bodies, which do not even try to influence the situation.
This shows that the ultra-right still feels like it owns the streets of the capital. It is only left to wait to see if something will change after the inauguration of the new president.
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