Fire in Odessa
In May 2014, after violent clashes in Odessa between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian factions, some of the pro-Russians retreated to the Soviet-era trade union building (they were not trade unionists as some sources claim). The building caught fire and 42 people died.
This is cited in some quarters as the work of “Ukrainian Nazis”. Here is an account of what happened, by the BBC (abbreviated):
The violence erupted as fans marching before a football match were ambushed by pro-Russian activists, eyewitnesses say. Hardline fans of both teams had agreed to hold a joint march to support a united Ukraine. Some were veteran supporters of Kiev's Maidan protest movement and/or part of the right-wing Pravy Sektor. But eyewitness accounts and videos suggest that many were just ordinary members of the public.
The marchers may have suspected trouble in a city with an ethnic Russian minority of around 30%. But as Nadiya Yashan told Ukrainian television: "We never expected an ambush on such a scale and the police to do so little."
Bogdan, who was part of the fans' march, told the BBC: "People started to walk, they were attacked by these guys in army helmets with baseball bats. Some of them had guns." A video on YouTube purporting to show the start of the violence suggests that police stood by as pro-Russian activists armed themselves with batons and other weapons.
Other reports suggested some of the activists on both sides were well-armed and well-protected - clubs, metal bars, air pistols, baseball bats and body armour, shields and helmets. A YouTube video appears to show a line of riot police shielding pro-Russian activists, one of whom fires a gun while chunks of paving stone rain down from the crowd on the other side.
A number of reports also spoke of armed protesters using the rooftop of the Afina shopping centre to fire pistols and throw Molotov cocktails. There seems little doubt that the gunshots and reports of casualties fuelled the anger of the pro-Ukrainian crowd.
Police said at least three people were shot dead in the running battles before the deadly fire at the Trade Unions House. Over the next few hours the clashes fragmented but a key development appeared to be a move by pro-Ukrainians against the tent city in Kulykovo Pole square.
Serhiy said: "People started streaming toward the station, taking Zhukovskoho Street and then taking Pushkinska Street. They chanted 'Long live Ukraine!' and 'Odessa is Ukrainian!'" He said tents in the pro-Russian camp were burning when he arrived and those there had moved to the entrance of the nearby Trade Unions House.
There was hand-to-hand fighting in the building although, again, it appeared the police did little to intervene. Television pictures and reports suggest both sides were throwing Molotov cocktails. Pro-Ukrainians reported that the pro-Russians were armed and firing pistols and rifles from the upper floors.
It remains unclear how the fire started on the third floor. Pictures clearly showed pro-Ukrainians throwing Molotov cocktails towards the floor. But Serhiy said he saw someone "on the third floor throw a Molotov cocktail through the closed window. However, the glass didn't break and a fire started inside".
People struggled to get out of the smoke-filled floor. Some people got to ledges and were helped by ambulance ladders. Some fell. Some people were reported to have shouted "die" as people fell.
In the aftermath, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had some angry words for the security forces, saying they were "inefficient and they violated the law".
The failings of the security forces appear to be one of the few things people agree on.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27275383
