It is essential for the Ukrainian authorities to resort to non-lethal bloodless but effective measures to stop separatists and extremists unrest in Eastern Ukraine. It seems that the authorities are trying to do this, according to the latest news:
Special police unit “Yaguar” liberated Kharkiv Regional Administration without shooting and casualties – UNIAN – April 8, 2014 | 07:55 Kyiv time. Mykola Knyazhytskiy, MP Batkivschyna, informed about this in his FB account quoting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
“I spoke to Avakov. An antiterrorist operation was conducted in Kharkiv. 70 troublemakers have been detained. They have been already placed in the Kyiv and Poltava jails. The special police unit “Yaguar” from Central Ukraine conducted this operation. “Yaguar” acted professionally – no shots, victims and casualties. “Yaguar” is ready to act anywhere in the Eastern Ukraine neutralizing criminals,” Mykola Knyazhytskiy wrote.
Kharkiv Regional State Administration building was stormed at 6:25 Kyiv time. The building is completely “cleaned up” now. During the storm not a single shot was made, 70 separatists detained,” – Mustafa Nayem reported at his FB with reference to his own sources.
Acting President of Ukraine, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov states that the recent events in Eastern Ukraine are the beginning of a second wave of Russia’s special operations to destabilize the situation. According to an UNIAN correspondent, he said this in an address which was broadcasted by “Rada” TV channel.
“The second wave of the special operation of the Russian Federation against Ukraine began yesterday; it’s goal is to destabilize the situation in the state, overthrow the authorities, break elections, and tear our country into pieces,” he said.
Turchynov reminded that “separatist groups coordinated by the Russian special services seized the building of the Regional State Administration and the Security Service in Donetsk, and the building of the SBU in Luhansk”.
Prosecutor of Donetsk Region promised to punish all separatists – UNIAN – April 7, 2014|14:54
The building of SBU Luhansk off the water and light – UNIAN – April 7, 2014| 14:51
There is a set of standard approaches towards non-lethal and bloodless handling of separatist’s unrests:
- counter-rallies in different safe areas to show the true opinion of the citizens with media coverage;
- isolating the separatists, cutting off electricity, water, telecommunications to the buildings which they occupy; using non-lethal methods such as water cannons and very loud irritating noise;
- re-constituting legitimate authorities to other buildings which would be, first of all, properly guarded;
- increasing security at all sensitive buildings not yet overtaken, in the respective cities and elsewhere;
- disrupting communications between separatists, keeping them atomized, arresting coordinators;
- closing the border for a few days;
- shutting down/sabotaging the broadcasting equipment where separatists have seized TV or radio buildings, bringing in alternatives based in secret locations.
Such approaches proved to be efficient in many countries. Ukraine also seems to start employing this experience to avoid victims and casualties during the conduct of anti-terrorist operations in Eastern Ukraine.
Compilation, translation and comments by Vitalii Usenko, MD, MBA, expert of the Center of Military-Political Studies in the sphere of psychology of communications, and by Dmytro Usenko, student at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Edited by Alya Shandra
