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| In Odessa, Home-Grown Combatants Keep Pro-Russia Forces in Check | In Odessa, Home-Grown Combatants Keep Pro-Russia Forces in Check |
| (4 months later) | |
| ODESSA, Ukraine — In a basement headquarters behind a home electronics store, Ruslan Forostyak pored over a map of the city’s defenses against pro-Russian militants: roadblocks, zones of responsibility, strategic sites to defend. | |
| But Mr. Forostyak is no police chief or general. He is a marine radio salesman, only recently turned leader of Odessa’s loose organization of pro-Ukrainian street fighters who see their role as defending their city against pro-Russian activists. | But Mr. Forostyak is no police chief or general. He is a marine radio salesman, only recently turned leader of Odessa’s loose organization of pro-Ukrainian street fighters who see their role as defending their city against pro-Russian activists. |
| While a call by the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, to delay a referendum on sovereignty may have lowered passions for the moment, neither Mr. Forostyak nor his group, the Council for Civil Security, is taking any chances. Their rivals have a permit to stage a march Friday for Victory Day, the annual celebration of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, and the council’s 3,000 members have vowed to head off any trouble through their 12 roadblocks, telephone hotline and militant wing armed with legally registered hunting rifles. | While a call by the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, to delay a referendum on sovereignty may have lowered passions for the moment, neither Mr. Forostyak nor his group, the Council for Civil Security, is taking any chances. Their rivals have a permit to stage a march Friday for Victory Day, the annual celebration of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, and the council’s 3,000 members have vowed to head off any trouble through their 12 roadblocks, telephone hotline and militant wing armed with legally registered hunting rifles. |
| That would be in keeping with what they have done ever since pro-Russian militants began overrunning public buildings throughout southeastern Ukraine, an area that has far greater historical and cultural ties to Russia than does Odessa. While militants had no trouble seizing control in those cities, Odessa has been a different story. | That would be in keeping with what they have done ever since pro-Russian militants began overrunning public buildings throughout southeastern Ukraine, an area that has far greater historical and cultural ties to Russia than does Odessa. While militants had no trouble seizing control in those cities, Odessa has been a different story. |
| “We did what the government should have done,” said Mr. Forostyak, still in his salesman’s synthetic suit, sweating and working two constantly ringing cellphones. “We understood we had to organize ourselves. The police are barely observing neutrality. They are barely holding back from helping the Russian side.” | “We did what the government should have done,” said Mr. Forostyak, still in his salesman’s synthetic suit, sweating and working two constantly ringing cellphones. “We understood we had to organize ourselves. The police are barely observing neutrality. They are barely holding back from helping the Russian side.” |
| Though the city is predominantly Russian speaking, a fierce grass-roots anti-Russian movement now has de facto control of the streets, owing to careful organization over the past two months. Pro-Russian activists, who tried to mimic their counterparts in the southeast, were routed by pro-Ukrainians last Friday, with 46 people — most of them pro-Russian — dying in a horrific fire. | Though the city is predominantly Russian speaking, a fierce grass-roots anti-Russian movement now has de facto control of the streets, owing to careful organization over the past two months. Pro-Russian activists, who tried to mimic their counterparts in the southeast, were routed by pro-Ukrainians last Friday, with 46 people — most of them pro-Russian — dying in a horrific fire. |
| Odessa, a Black Sea port city of colonnaded facades, cobblestone streets and an elegant old opera house, founded by the Russian empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century, is a multiethnic port inhabited by Ukrainians, Russians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians, Tatars and Jews where Russian is the lingua franca. | Odessa, a Black Sea port city of colonnaded facades, cobblestone streets and an elegant old opera house, founded by the Russian empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century, is a multiethnic port inhabited by Ukrainians, Russians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians, Tatars and Jews where Russian is the lingua franca. |
| Both sides in the recent fighting were Russian speaking, divided not by language but politics, some supporting the interim government, others secession. Local political observers say supporters of the interim government outnumber pro-Russians, though most of the population lies in a passive neutral group in the middle. | Both sides in the recent fighting were Russian speaking, divided not by language but politics, some supporting the interim government, others secession. Local political observers say supporters of the interim government outnumber pro-Russians, though most of the population lies in a passive neutral group in the middle. |
| As pro-Russian groups tried to spread their movement west and south, the street fighting here defined a geographic limit; further advances into areas of mixed loyalty are likely only to become more chaotic and bloody. | As pro-Russian groups tried to spread their movement west and south, the street fighting here defined a geographic limit; further advances into areas of mixed loyalty are likely only to become more chaotic and bloody. |
| This seems to be true even though much of the administration and police leadership in Odessa was staffed by appointees of the former government of Viktor F. Yanukovych and leaned toward the pro-Russian movement, led here by two brothers, Anton and Artyom Davydchenko. Anton is now in prison and Artyom was wounded in the fighting Friday. | This seems to be true even though much of the administration and police leadership in Odessa was staffed by appointees of the former government of Viktor F. Yanukovych and leaned toward the pro-Russian movement, led here by two brothers, Anton and Artyom Davydchenko. Anton is now in prison and Artyom was wounded in the fighting Friday. |
| With popular support but little police backup, pro-Ukrainian civilian groups confronted the pro-Russian activists storming government buildings and protesting on Kulikovo Square in central Odessa. | With popular support but little police backup, pro-Ukrainian civilian groups confronted the pro-Russian activists storming government buildings and protesting on Kulikovo Square in central Odessa. |
| Mr. Forostyak said the model of the Council for Civil Security was an anthill. Each volunteer specializes in one task, aiding the overall effort. The headquarters seethed with activity this week, ahead of Victory Day. | Mr. Forostyak said the model of the Council for Civil Security was an anthill. Each volunteer specializes in one task, aiding the overall effort. The headquarters seethed with activity this week, ahead of Victory Day. |
| For those taking part in it, the street fighting between neighbors has become intensely personal, a civil war in the purest sense. Men never know when an opponent met unexpectedly in the city will just walk past, or open fire. | For those taking part in it, the street fighting between neighbors has become intensely personal, a civil war in the purest sense. Men never know when an opponent met unexpectedly in the city will just walk past, or open fire. |
| Vitaly Kozhukhar, a leader of a pro-Ukrainian group called Maidan Self-Defense, which operates under the umbrella of the security council, cut through one such tense situation with a joke. On Friday, he hobbled into a hospital after being struck on the shin by a hurled cobblestone, only to find three of his injured opponents — two policemen and a pro-Russian activist — also awaiting a doctor. | Vitaly Kozhukhar, a leader of a pro-Ukrainian group called Maidan Self-Defense, which operates under the umbrella of the security council, cut through one such tense situation with a joke. On Friday, he hobbled into a hospital after being struck on the shin by a hurled cobblestone, only to find three of his injured opponents — two policemen and a pro-Russian activist — also awaiting a doctor. |
| The four sat silently for a while. “It was very tense,” Mr. Kozhukhar said. “It wasn’t clear what would happen. So I told them, ‘Guys, don’t worry, hospitals and graveyards make equals of us all.’ ” | The four sat silently for a while. “It was very tense,” Mr. Kozhukhar said. “It wasn’t clear what would happen. So I told them, ‘Guys, don’t worry, hospitals and graveyards make equals of us all.’ ” |
| The pro-Russian man chuckled, but pulled off his red armband and stuffed it into his pocket. | The pro-Russian man chuckled, but pulled off his red armband and stuffed it into his pocket. |
| Mr. Kozhukhar said he and other leaders of the self-defense groups on both sides spoke often in recent months, meeting in cafes or talking on cellphones in an effort to avoid clashes, until Friday. It remains unclear, he said, why this unofficial truce broke down Friday. | Mr. Kozhukhar said he and other leaders of the self-defense groups on both sides spoke often in recent months, meeting in cafes or talking on cellphones in an effort to avoid clashes, until Friday. It remains unclear, he said, why this unofficial truce broke down Friday. |
| Whatever the reason, it was the bloodiest street fighting in Ukraine since the overthrow of the government in February, and the deadliest locally since five days of fighting between Reds and Whites and supporters of Ukrainian independence in 1918, which killed 118 people. | Whatever the reason, it was the bloodiest street fighting in Ukraine since the overthrow of the government in February, and the deadliest locally since five days of fighting between Reds and Whites and supporters of Ukrainian independence in 1918, which killed 118 people. |
| The speaker of Russia’s Parliament, Sergei Naryshkin, has called the fire a genocide, Interfax reported. “We are dealing with a real genocide, a genocide of Russian and Ukrainian people in the 21st century,” he said. | The speaker of Russia’s Parliament, Sergei Naryshkin, has called the fire a genocide, Interfax reported. “We are dealing with a real genocide, a genocide of Russian and Ukrainian people in the 21st century,” he said. |
| The leaders of the pro-Ukrainian groups say that they tried to save those trapped by the fire by putting scaffolding on the side of the building to help them climb out. Pro-Russian groups say people who tried to jump or run from the building were beaten. | The leaders of the pro-Ukrainian groups say that they tried to save those trapped by the fire by putting scaffolding on the side of the building to help them climb out. Pro-Russian groups say people who tried to jump or run from the building were beaten. |
| In another illustration of the nature of the conflict in this city, in Hospital No. 1, two young men lay in adjacent rooms. Both were ethnic Ukrainian but Russian speaking. | In another illustration of the nature of the conflict in this city, in Hospital No. 1, two young men lay in adjacent rooms. Both were ethnic Ukrainian but Russian speaking. |
| Valentin Volchok, 18, lay on his side, trying to ease the pain from the lacerations on his back where nails from an improvised hand grenade had struck him. He said he belonged to Patriots of Ukraine, a Ukrainian nationalist group. Down the hall, Yevgeny Makarenko, 30, a pro-Russian activist, lay stiffly on his back, his left cheek and both hands blackened with burns, and slathered in a yellow cream to prevent infections. | Valentin Volchok, 18, lay on his side, trying to ease the pain from the lacerations on his back where nails from an improvised hand grenade had struck him. He said he belonged to Patriots of Ukraine, a Ukrainian nationalist group. Down the hall, Yevgeny Makarenko, 30, a pro-Russian activist, lay stiffly on his back, his left cheek and both hands blackened with burns, and slathered in a yellow cream to prevent infections. |
| Mr. Makarenko was barely communicative, and it was unclear whether Mr. Volchok was healing so much as nursing a grudge. | Mr. Makarenko was barely communicative, and it was unclear whether Mr. Volchok was healing so much as nursing a grudge. |
| “We feel that we are a majority here, and they should fear us,” he said of his opponents. But he said he was not angry at Mr. Makarenko in the next room. “We’re all people and all need the hospital when we’re hurt,” he said. | “We feel that we are a majority here, and they should fear us,” he said of his opponents. But he said he was not angry at Mr. Makarenko in the next room. “We’re all people and all need the hospital when we’re hurt,” he said. |