Ukraine’s tense Odessa marks two years since clashes killed 48

Ukrainian police in the tense southern city of Odessa on Monday discovered three grenades near the site of commemorations to mark two years since clashes between Moscow and Kiev supporters killed 48.

Bloody street battles between armed backers of the pro-Western government in Kiev and Moscow culminated in a building inferno in which 42 pro-Russians died.

The violence erupted at the height of Ukraine’s pro-Russian eastern insurgency and sparked fears in Kiev that the Kremlin was preparing an all-out invasion of the former Soviet republic.

That assault never came but the bloodshed ratcheted up the tensions and Russia later accused Ukraine of covering up an investigation into who was ultimately responsible for the deaths.

The two-year separatist revolt Russia denies supporting has now killed more than 9,300 people and — along with the annexation of Ukraine’s strategic peninsula of Crimea — plunged Moscow’s relations with the West to a post-Cold War low.

More than 200 people bearing flowers massed Monday outside metal detectors set up around the Odessa square at which the carnage occurred.

About 3,000 members of the security forces from the predominantly Russian-speaking Black Sea port city and surrounding regions were called in as a precaution to prevent fresh violence.

But Ukrainian interior ministry spokesman Artem Shevchenko said police had discovered three grenades hidden near Kulykove Pole — the square that was the scene of the battles and where the Trade Union House in which the pro-Russians took refuge was torched.

“Access to Kulykove Pole is being limited,” Shevchenko wrote on Facebook.

“Police and National Guard forces are continuing to beef up their efforts to enforce public order.”

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the deadly chain of events was sparked when a group of pro-Russians armed with baseball bats and guns “provoked” the participants of the pro-Ukraine rally.

A Ukrainian court is so far only looking into the case of 20 suspects accused of shooting dead six people during the pro-Kiev march.

The results of a probe into who was responsible for torching the building in which the pro-Russians took shelter when chased by armed Kiev supporters have not been submitted to court.

“I urge the government of Ukraine to follow up on the recommendations of the Council of Europe International Advisory Panel and to carry out an independent and transparent investigation,” the head of the EU delegation to Ukraine, Jan Tombinski, said in a statement to mark the anniversary.

str-os-zak/ric