Germany Blames Right Sector Militants for Stoking Tensions in Ukraine

The activities of the Right Sector ultranationalist group are exacerbating what is already a complicated political situation in Ukraine, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

“The situation in Kiev is complicated, no doubt about that…  And what the Right Sector has recently been doing in western Ukraine and in Kiev is very worrisome,” Martin Schaefer told a news briefing in Berlin.

“In a law-governed democratic society everyone can express his political views but strictly within the boundaries of the law. That’s why the German government supports everything that is being done by the Ukrainian law enforcers and the Ukrainian government,” Schaefer added.

On July 11, Right Sector militants engaged in a firefight with local police and business structures in Mukachevo, in Ukraine’s western Zakarpattia region, which left four people dead and 14 injured.

Kiev declared a manhunt for the killers and the Right Sector, in response, staged rallies in Ukrainian towns demanding the resignation of the interior minister.

Hundreds of Ukrainian right-wingers rallied in Kiev on Tuesday to protest against government policies.

Speaking at the rally Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh called for a referendum to impeach President Petro Poroshenko and his government.