Ukraine Moves to Disarm Right Sector After Shootings

Russia, EU Back Parliament's Vote on Disarmament

Amid reports that one of their members was involved in a shooting at a Kiev restaurant, Ukraine’s parliament has voted to disarm “illegal armed groups” in the nation, a move aimed primarily at the ultra-nationalist Right Sector.

The Right Sector played a major role in the violent protests which installed the current interim government, but the group has continued to stir trouble in recent weeks, promising to take a violent revenge on the nation’s Interior Minister over the death of one of their leaders, killed in a shoot-out with police.

The order to disarm the group and the ability to actually make it happen are two different things, however, and while police moved on a hotel linked to the group’s leadership they are unlikely to disarm the group as a whole without a fight.

Russian officials expressed support for the move, as did foreign ministers from several EU member nations, which urged Ukraine’s new government to distance itself from the extremist factions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.