“We will not be intimidated”
Authorities want to strengthen security in Kharkiv. NGOs are calling for unity and responsibility
The deadly terrorist attack that hit Kharkiv on Forgiveness Sunday (February 22) showed once again the entire essence of the Russian aggression and pointed to the need for Ukraine to strengthen security.
On February 23, Kharkiv held the day of mourning for the dead and injured in the terrible terrorist attack of the previous day. At 1 p.m., the whole city observed a minute of silence for the victims – community activist Ihor Tolmachov and police Lieutenant Colonel Vadym Rybalchenko. Subway trains and surface public transport vehicles slowed down. Several hundred people gathered near the Taras Shevchenko monument on that afternoon; not making any speeches or statements, they just silently laid flowers at the photos of the victims. Unfortunately, when preparing this material, we learned that the 15-year-old boy who was gravely wounded in the attack died in the hospital.
NGO representatives issued a joint statement on February 22, asserting the need to join their efforts against the external threat and be responsible in holding events that they organize. One of the initiators of the appeal, representative of the Kharkiv Crisis Information Center Hlib Tymoshenko considered it important that different pro-democracy forces came together for a joint appeal, because they could not agree on a common venue on the eve of the attack: “We tried to persuade other guys to hold a joint event by the Shevchenko monument and not to go to the Palace of Sports. We even postponed our gathering from February 20 to February 22, just to make it a united effort! I hope that we will be able to overcome differences and personal ambitions now.”
KHARKIV. FEBRUARY 22, 2015 / Photo from the website UAPRESS.INFO
“We will go on with our gatherings, we will not be intimidated,” civic activist Dmytro Bulakh stressed. “However, we will improve our security precautions.” Another civic activist and volunteer Ihor Cherniak emphasized: “The most important thing for us is unity, and a tough response to all forms of separatism.”
The State Security Service’s Kharkiv Regional Directorate had not made a formal statement about the specific security measures they would take after the February 22 attack as this article was going to press. The security officers privately said they were ready to take the most severe actions due to the increased terrorist threat. “In the present situation, when a terrorist attack in Kharkiv turned deadly for the first time, it would be right to cancel all public assemblies and mass celebrations and install as many surveillance cameras as possible in public places,” they told us.
“The terrible terrorist attack that took place on February 22 is a reminder that Ukraine’s enemies make regular attempts to expand the terror-hit area and destabilize the situation in a front-line city, which Kharkiv has become,” spokesperson of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration Viktoria Annapolska commented. “We hope that all terrorist attempts will be stopped in the most resolute manner.” Also, the oblast administration asserted the need to hold NGOs more responsible for the events they hold.
