Sometimes bad good is good news. But what is good news to some is not good news to others.
The announcement of the killing of the leader of a radical right wing opposition movement, and some say neo-nazi group, Oleksander Muzychko. has provoked a sigh of relief for those who had hated the interference the radical group played on the recent Ukrainian revolt.
Muzychko was killed in what appears to be a raid on his compound, or a restaurant, amidst what is being recounted as a blaze of gunfire and depending, of course, on who you ask.
But is this all there is to it? Some are raising poignant question about the demise of the radical group leader. And indeed his passing could mean a number of things.
Although the far right group he led was loathed by many and used by Russia as an excuse for invading Crimea and later on could be employed as the reason to invade Ukraine too, Muzychko's passing may signal a cowering on the part of Ukraine, or at least an offering to quell Putin's anger and stave off his advance into further Ukrainian territory.
The radical right wing group, called Right Sector, had wrought havoc during the civil revolt that deposed the pro-Russia Yanukovich earlier this year. Their presence however, complicated the negotiations between the opposition, which tried to prevent the bloody outcome of the revolt, and then sitting Prime Minister Yanukovich. Their constant and belligerent interference all but handed Putin the excuse he needed to invade Crimea.
Even more doubtful is the mode in which Muzychko died. Witness accounts from the police side speak of a man who came out, guns blazing, and practically asked to be done in. But other accounts talk of a well planned raid with special Sokol forces, who stormed his compound and killed him in cold blood.
This latter account could gain credence if one takes into account the fact that Foreign minister Lavrov had just the day before traveled to Ukraine for talks, i.e., demands on the Ukrainian government, which might have included the killing of the leader of Right Sector.
While Ukraine dithers on whether to mount a true offensive to the threatened invasion of the eastern Ukrainian regions by Russia, the parliament in Kuyv voted to oust the Defence Minister, chiefly due to that dithering, which is being interpreted by Russia and worldwide as a fatal indecision.
Could Lavrov have requested the killing of the leader of Right Sector? After all, Russia blamed the entire civil unrest on neo-nazi lunatics, and was given the chance, because of their presence, to dismiss wholesale the revolt as nothing more than an attempt at a radical putsch.
One of the eyewitnesses that spoke of the killing of Muzychko, said that his car was ambushed by two special police forces vehicles. Men poured out of the special forces vehicle and abducted and pushed the rebel leader into one of the cars. Later, his body was found dumped on the side of the road with his hands tied and two bullets in his heart.
Although Muzychko threatened both the stability of the frail government now in place and the legitimacy of the civil unrest, his actions were mostly relegated to that part of Ukraine firmly under the control of Russia, the Eastern sector where Russian cronies reign undisputed over the energy riches of Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet union.
Russia however, had targeted Right Sector, claiming that their fierce nationalism threatened Russian nationals living in Ukraine. But those who have followed Ukraine's destiny after independence from Russia know that Ukraine has never been able to escape the clutches of Russia's potentates. In fact, Putin uses the existence of a right wing party as his own personal crutch, as if Russia was a victim of radicalized behavior, even now that Putin has all but abandoned the communist ideals of his predecessors.
In fact, Russia had issued a warrant for Muzychko's arrest, on the trumped up charges that he had tortured and killed Russian soldiers in the 1990s, during the Chechen war. Although the rebel leader had fought with the Chechens, there is no proof that Muzychko killed Russian soldiers.
In addition, Muzychko had foreseen his own death not long ago, and knew that the Ukrainian government had a contract out on him, although at the time he discussed this publicly the sitting premier was still Yanukovich, the Russian puppet minister of Ukraine.
Does the death of Muzychko signal Ukraine's willingness to abide by Putin's requests to avoid a full blown invasion? It remains to be seen, however, if Putin will hold up his end of the bargain after this killing. With the leader of Right Front killed, the excuse that a radicalized right wing is fomenting and causing the unrest is gone. But, if the past is any indication, his own promises have never stopped the Russian premier from getting what he wants.
Op-Ed
Sources : bbc/
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