MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev's plans to hire foreign private security firms to maintain law and order in Ukraine violate the country's legislation and prove that the new authorities are unable to ensure security of its citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
"It is obvious that such practices, if they are implemented, will violate the Ukrainian laws, which prohibit hiring foreigners for work even in the domestic security companies," the ministry said in a statement.
"Such initiatives prove that those who have seized power in Kiev are unable to ensure basic order in the country, and, probably, to guarantee their own security," the statement said."Lacking popular support, the Maidan authorities are ready to mobilize any help from their international sponsors, including hiring foreign mercenaries, as a last resort to secure their grip on power."
The ministry commented on media rumors reporting possible involvement of Barbados-registered Greystone Ltd, part of the Academi corporation that boasts "protective security and training solutions to customers in challenging environments," in providing security services for the Ukrainian government.
The ministry described the company as "an equivalent and, possibly, an affiliate of the Blackwater private army, whose employees have repeatedly been accused of cruel and systematic human rights abuses in various conflict zones around the world."
Blackwater was one of the three private U.S. security contractors hired to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Its guards mistakenly opened fire on Iraqi civilians in September 2007, killing 17 people, including women and children.
The company denied any wrongdoing, but its chief executive Erik Prince had to resign in 2009 amid the political backlash that followed. Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services, was sold in 2010 and later renamed Academi.
