Militias Hunt Kiev Looters From Central Bank to Bling Palace
By Ilya Arkhipov and John Fraher Feb 26, 2014 6:56 AM ET
It’s after midnight and a former Ukrainian special forces officer going by the name of Jean is racing into central Kiev to round up reinforcements.
There’s chaos at the palace of deposed President Viktor Yanukovych. Jean and his team of eight volunteers, who include a middle-aged owner of a textile business and an unemployed boxer, need to keep order in a city largely abandoned by official law enforcement since Yanukovych’s overthrow on Feb. 22.
“There are so many things to control,” said Jean, as he drove a black minivan with flashing lights through the streets of Kiev. Kalashnikov and Remington rifles and a flak jacket were on the floor. “We are for cleanliness, order, stability and not for lawlessness and looting.”
The flurry of activity reflects a country where the government security forces went from deadly confrontation with protesters to desertion in a matter of days. Now, self-appointed groups rule the streets after most of the police fled in the aftermath of the uprising. While Kiev is mostly peaceful, there is no central authority in full control.
As the speed of change sinks in among Ukrainians, the risk is that security will eventually break down if the police force isn’t reconfigured and returned to the streets.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-25/militias-hunt-kiev-for-looters-from-central-bank-to-bling-palace.html
