MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Ukrainian authorities Wednesday to take decisive action in disarming radical paramilitary groups, while expressing concern about continued extremist activity in the country.
“We call on the Ukrainian authorities not to limit the fight against radical powers in Ukraine with rhetoric, but to take decisive measures in disarming the extremists,” the ministry said in a statement.
Media reports said the members of the ultranationalist Ukrainian paramilitary group Right Sector, which could face an outright ban following a siege of the country’s parliament building last week, have relocated from their former headquarters in Ukraine’s capital.
The movement is known for its leading role in the violent protests that brought the incumbent Ukrainian leadership to power in late February. Its activists used clubs, petrol bombs, and firearms in street fighting against Ukrainian police.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said citing unnamed sources that Right Sector extremists are continuing preparations to carry out more attacks in the country,
“It has become known that extremists from Right Sector have only relocated to their urban residency where they continue to carry out extremist activities,” the statement reads.
The Ukrainian interior ministry has authorized the detention and questioning of radical Right Sector members after receiving threats of retaliation for the killing of one of its most notorious activists.
Late last month, Ukrainian special forces killed ultranationalist Olexander Muzychko, a member of Right Sector who was wanted by Russia on suspicion of torturing and murdering at least 20 Russian servicemen in Chechnya in the early 2000s.
The movement’s major ally, the neo-Nazi Svoboda party led by Oleh Tyahnybok, is a member of the ruling coalition in the country.