MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. The road accident in the Ukrainian town of Konstantinovka is a clear sign the Ukrainian armed forces in the territories under their control behave themselves like an "army of occupation," a member of A Just Russia faction in the State Duma, Mikhail Yemelyanov, said before the beginning of the lower house’s full-scale session on Tuesday. He was referring to Monday’s incident in the village of Konstantinovka, the Donetsk Region, in which an armored vehicle ran over and killed an 8-year-old girl. The woman hurt in the same accident is in hospital in grave condition.
"That’s the kind of attitude they take to local civilians. They take the liberty of getting drunk and the riding about in armored vehicles and hitting civilians. Moreover, as you know, the local police have been ordered to use firearms against their own people," Yemelyanov said.
The town of Konstantinovka is under the control of Ukrainian military. As the Donetsk Region’s police department has said, the incident has sparked an angry public response. Local residents set fire to tires in front of the hostel being used by Ukrainian troops and smashed windows in the building. On the site of the tragedy about 30 men overturned a traffic police car. A rally followed.
The chief of the Donetsk regional state administration, Aleksandr Kikhtenko, has said that the movements of armored vehicles in the territory of the Donetsk Region would be limited.
"There will be imposed restrictions on the movements of armored vehicles. New routes for them will be mapped. Tracked vehicles will not be allowed in the streets. They will be transported only by trailer trucks. That will be done in the entire territory of the Donetsk Region under the control of the Ukrainian authorities," he said.