Ukrainian nationalist leader Dmytro Yarosh has been placed on Interpol’s wanted list at the request of Russian authorities. According to the notice, he faces two charges “by the judicial authorities of Russia” for “public incitement to terrorist activities involving the use of mass media” and “public incitement to extremist activities involving the use of mass media.”
The international police organization notice
doesn’t contain a date or time when it was posted.
Yarosh, 42, is the leader of Praviy Sektor, a
militant nationalist group that formed during the EuroMaidan Revolution that
eventually toppled disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. A native of
predominantly Russian-speaking Dniproderzhynsk in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, his organization
became one of the most visible groups during the popular uprising by providing
security to protesters. It also took part in defending the protest movement’s
perimeter from police brutality.
After the revolution, Praviy Sektor registered
as a political party and Yarosh subsequently unsuccessfully ran for president.
Recent polls show that Praviy Sektor wouldn’t pass the 5 percent threshold to enter
parliament. However, the Russian government and its mostly Kremlin-backed media
outlets have demonized the group as fascists who are bent on killing
Russian-speakers.
When asked to comment on the Interpol
posting, Yarosh told the Kyiv Post over the phone that “this is a normal
phenomenon, this is war, the enemy (Russia) tries to neutralize the elements
that are resisting Moscow’s occupation (of Ukraine).”
Many Praviy Sektor members are fighting
Kremlin-backed guerillas in eastern Ukraine, added Yarosh.
“Our fighters are not subordinated to the
Interior Ministry but we are coordinating our military action with the
Anti-Terrorist Operation,” he said.
Kyiv Post
editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
