KIEV (Sputnik) — Ukrainian police are fully prepared to counter any threat of armed provocations on the second anniversary of the in the port city of Odessa, adviser to the interior minister Zoryan Shkiryak said Monday.
"To dismiss various hints coming from certain officials in the Odesa Region government, we once again stress that all National Police and National Guard units are in full readiness…in case of armed provocations from pro-Russian anti-state forces posing a direct threat to peace and the lives of civilians or security personnel, there will be a harsh and suitable response," Shkiryak wrote on his Facebook page.
Earlier on Monday, the Ukrainian police found an explosive device similar to a smoke bomb near a vehicle in the center of Odesa and detained a person allegedly responsible for planting it.
May 2 marks two years since pro-Kiev radicals blocked anti-government protesters in Odesa's House of Trade Unions and set the building on fire by hurling Molotov cocktails inside in 2014. According to official statistics, 48 people died in the incident and more than 250 were injured, while alternative sources, cited by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, say the death toll could be as high as 397 people.
