Ukraine’s PM Calls For Full Probe Into May 9 Clashes in City of Dnipro

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman demanded Thursday for a comprehensive investigation into the clashes, which occurred amid Tuesday's Victory Day celebrations in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and the punishment of all individuals found guilty in the incident.

KIEV (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov fired the police leadership of Dnipro and the Dnipropetrovsk Region and launched a probe into the clashes that took place in the region during the Victory Day celebrations on May 9, and left 14 people, including policemen, injured and 15 more detained. According to local media, the clashes occurred as participants of the commemorative march refused to remove flags bearing communist symbols, at the request of former participants of Kiev's military operation in the Donbas region.

"What happened in Dnipro is absolutely unacceptable. The provocation, which occurred there needs to be assessed in full… It is necessary to finish the investigation. It is necessary that all those found guilty were punished, it is necessary that every employee of the police and other services alkalized what happened and it is necessary to ensure that this will not happen again," Groysman said.

Groysman noted that any provocations, which took place during such a somber event as the commemorative celebration of the Victory Day are "morally unacceptable."

According to media reports, over 50 people were detained during celebrations across Ukraine on Tuesday, most of them in Kiev, over creating public disturbances and using communist-related symbols. Such symbols have been banned in Ukraine since 2015, when the state’s President Petro Poroshenko signed a so-called de-communization law, which equated Communism with Nazism and banned communist-related symbols on Ukrainian territory.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!