MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russian oil company Lukoil confirmed Monday that the radical Right Sector movement organized a blockade of Lukoil petrol stations in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine and called this move an obstacle to business.
“In some sites, people are just standing and blocking off the stations, in other places, they blocked everything with tires. They are just voicing their demands, but there are no formal demand letters,” a Lukoil source said, adding that Right Sector fighters’ actions fall under the provisions of Article 206 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, an obstruction of legitimate business activity.
On Monday, the OSCE reported that Right Sector militants blockaded several Lukoil gas stations in Ivano-Frankivsk, demanding that the Russian oil company allocate 2.5 to 3 tons of fuel per month for the Ukrainian Army. According to the OSCE, Right Sector representatives told the staff at the petrol stations that they would continue to block Lukoil until the company met their demands, or closed their businesses in Ukraine.
Members of Right Sector were among those who clashed with police and seized administrative buildings in Ukraine in January. They were also the ones implicated in the fire in Odesa where at least 48 people died and more than 200 were injured. Moscow has repeatedly called on Kiev to disarm Right Sector.
