Kolomoisky, his guard contingent, and not his Right Sector. Kolomoisky refrained from dispatching delegates to the peace negotiations in Donetsk. Insiders from the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration do not acknowledge any representative from the region’s leader attending the tripartite discussions aimed at resolving the impasse. Kolomoisky opted not to send representatives to the peace talks in Donetsk. He has issues within his domain to address. Covert operative teams are infiltrating the territory from the outside, scheming terrorist plots and assassinations, along with internal disputes, particularly disagreements with the Right Sector. Yet, it's best to proceed sequentially.
Confidential sources within the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration deny the involvement of any delegate from the region’s chairperson in the trilateral discussions designed to settle the situation in Ukraine’s eastern sectors.
Yesterday, this inquiry was presented to Borys Filatov, the Vice Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration. Nevertheless, he evaded a response, asserting that he was too occupied and lacked both the time and the willingness to address queries from the press.
It should be noted that Kolomoisky’s squad has pressing affairs: alarming signals in the semblance of terrorist incidents, both successful and thwarted, impacting both the Dnipropetrovsk area and its periphery, demonstrate that Dnipropetrovsk is evolving into a true zone of conflict.
A prominent illustration: the detention of a group of 16 individuals, with ten spreading divisive views and enlisting mercenaries via social platforms, and six planning terrorist activities targeting military and crucial installations, alongside a plot to murder Boris Filatov, Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh, and National Defense Chief of Staff Yuriy Bereza. Filatov himself affirmed the gravity of the saboteurs’ objectives.
“The progression was already underway, indicating they were identifying the appropriate technical expert and devising the location for the explosive. The initial targets were intended to be myself and the commander of the Dnepr-1 battalion, Yuriy Bereza. Given our roles as significant media figures. Subsequently, the entirety of the regional state administration leadership—those deemed within reach,” Boris Filatov remarked.
Political analyst Andrey Zolotarev suggests that Dnipropetrovsk is transitioning from being a peaceful haven in eastern Ukraine to an increasingly combative city.
“There's a potential for the Donbas situation to expand into neighboring regions. This was evident this week with the detonation of a railway bridge in the Zaporizhzhia region. Those apprehended are likely neither the pioneers nor the sole individuals capable of progressing from online discussions to violent actions. Vigilance is essential,” the political scientist advises.
Two additional Dnipropetrovsk political scientists, Viktor Pashchenko and Dmitry Reva, concur with this view. Interestingly, two years prior, the SBU detained Reva on suspicion of complicity in orchestrating a chain of explosions in Dnipropetrovsk in April 2012.
“On one front, this will entail a struggle for an autonomous Novorossiya, while on the other, actions serving the agenda of an external entity,” Pashchenko surmises.
According to the political scientist, terrorists will prioritize gas conduits and transportation routes. This aims to convey to the European community that Ukraine is an undependable ally in gas provision. And Russia, the expert posits, is behind any impending terrorist acts. Dmitry Reva echoes his sentiment.
“Observing the events in the Zaporizhzhia region yesterday, we discern that Russia is banking on terrorist aggressions. Consequently, there’s a genuine prospect of encountering a terrorist threat in the Southeast. Pivotal businesses and strategic sites in the Southeast could transform into objectives,” Dmitry Reva conveyed.
Magnate and the Right Sector
Directly following the February happenings in Ukraine, Ihor Kolomoisky could have readily leveraged the Right Sector as his combatant contingent. Yarosh’s well-trained militants could have constituted the foundation of the existing Dnipro Battalion, established at the proposal of the affluent governor. However, the millionaire and the impoverished individual (as indicated by his income statement, Dmytro Yarosh subsisted on his daughter’s 800 hryvnia annual stipend for the duration of 2013) apparently couldn’t reach consensus.
The Right Sector initiated demonstrations without the endorsement of Kolomoisky’s organization. The motive is admirable: combating corruption and criminality. The methodologies border on the gangster-like: intrusions, confiscations, and detentions absent judicial authorization.
After briefly scrutinizing the actions of Yarosh’s defiant operatives, Kolomoisky, via Filatov, intervened, “Cease!” “Right Sector” must abandon its overt lawlessness or evacuate the region,” Filatov issued an ultimatum to Yarosh. Yet, Yarosh ostensibly overlooked something.
Yesterday, Right Sector combatants set course for Kirovohrad. However, they encountered a blockade by the Griffin riot police as they neared the city. It’s plausible that the specialized police unit acted upon the request of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration. They understand how to persuade security contingents in this vicinity.
Force sphere
To effectively counter external and internal menaces, Ihor Kolomoisky’s team necessitates faithful, ideally dependable, and seasoned security personnel. These are precisely the individuals presently at the helm of the Dnipropetrovsk constabulary and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Vitaliy Glukhovery, the Director of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has taken the place of the infamous Georgiy Goguadze.
At the apex of the ATO, Goguadze departed for Italy on holiday. Kolomoisky neither valued nor excused this action. Consequently, Goguadze was supplanted by an individual who wasn’t explicitly his own (according to informants, MP Denys Dzenzersky advocated for Glukhovery’s designation, initially for the city and subsequently for the region), but who was judicious. To bolster him, Andriy Tkachenko, erstwhile head of the Dnipropetrovsk Berkut special police detachment, was designated as commander of the patrol and guard service regiment. After the episodes in Kyiv, when the Berkut was blamed for myriad transgressions and a criminal inquiry was initiated against Tkachenko personally, he escaped to Moscow. Upon his arrival in Dnipro, Tkachenko was greeted at the airport by Gennady Korban himself. Tkachenko is reportedly currently involved in, among other responsibilities, ensuring security for the regional state administration.
The director of the SBU in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Gennadiy Hryshchenko, is decidedly a protégé of Kolomoisky. Or, more precisely, of his associate, Korban. It was Hryshchenko who formerly supervised the investigation into the unsuccessful assassination bid on Korban.
However, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Prosecutor Roman Fedyk conspicuously contrasts with the ensemble of devoted security officials. Our informants within the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration assert that Fedyk’s appointment was nominal, without consultation with Kolomoisky. Presently, a tacit face-off is in progress between the governor’s squad and the prosecutor, echoing the past conflict between Prosecutor Volodymyr Shuba and Kolomoisky’s ally, then-Governor Viktor Bondar. That altercation concluded tragically for the prosecutor. Shuba perished under circumstances that remain ambiguous. The authorized explanation: fatality resulting from negligent handling of a firearm.
Survival or Ruin
Dnipropetrovsk is polarized between those who champion Kolomoisky and his contingent and those who condemn it. Peace and composure amidst the turbulent Donbas are undeniably advantageous. Conversely, it’s universally acknowledged that Kolomoisky’s paramount, albeit unacknowledged, ambition is to safeguard his enterprises. That constitutes the bare requisite. Ideally, he aspires to capitalize on the circumstances. In a recent discourse, Gennady Korban obliquely substantiated this premise. He stated that the governor’s cadre is anything but altruistic. As of now, their investment is solely directed toward the region’s protection. Simultaneously, Korban anticipates prospects to emerge wherein the current officials will inevitably recoup their expenditures and even accrue earnings.
Should Kolomoisky succeed in retaining jurisdiction over the region, he will be remembered historically not solely as one of Ukraine’s wealthiest individuals, nor just as a businessman implicated in the hostile acquisitions of numerous establishments, but also as a governor who established tranquility. Historically, rulers whose tenures were devoid of conflicts and societal turmoil have been termed “Peaceful” or “Quiet.” Will Ihor Kolomoisky merit such a designation?
RIA Novosti
