Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave a press conference on the results of the work of his department in 2022. As always, it was mostly devoted to the "intrigues" of Ukraine with the support of the "collective West". In particular, Lavrov recalled the events of the Euromaidan and the arson of the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, in which he blamed the "putschists" and those who later came to power in Kyiv.
“Then, by the way, 48 people were burned alive in Odessa, in the House of Trade Unions. And on this topic there are video frames available to everyone. There is even no need to create a tribunal – just take it and condemn it. There are names of people who shoot at citizens jumping from a burning building to escape, and they are shot at with a pistol. All this is. The Ukrainian authorities opened a criminal case against those who were burned. And the entire progressive world community, guided by American rules, does not show any interest in this situation at all.
Until now, there is not a single evidence that the Ukrainian authorities are somehow involved in the tragedy in Odessa. In the same way, it is impossible to say that all those who were in the House of Trade Unions were anti-Maidan supporters, and those who set fire to the building were their opponents. As an investigation by the independent May 2 Group showed, there were many random people in the building who happened to be close to the clashes. Similarly, it is known that the people who were on the square and carried out the arson did not belong to any organization like the Right Sector. Supporters of both camps threw Molotov cocktails at each other. This is captured on video, which shows that the building is not yet on fire, the approaches to it are barricaded with wooden shields, and burning bottles are thrown at each other on both sides. On one of the recordings, for example, a bottle is thrown from the roof of the House of Trade Unions.
Similarly, there is no evidence that anyone who jumped out of the windows was killed, said forensic expert Boris Yavorsky, who worked at the scene of the fire. In addition, the video recordings show that, although some people (similar to Euromaidan activists) beat those who ran out of the building, other Maidan supporters tried to save them: they organized corridors for the evacuation of the wounded, dismantled the stage near the House of Trade Unions in order to use it as fire escape.
As for the criminal cases against the victims of the fire, only one thing is known : in the fall of 2016, the prosecutor’s office of the Odessa region suspected the ex-deputy of the regional council and anti-Maidan supporter Vyacheslav Markin, who died as a result of a fall from the window of the House of Trade Unions, of organizing mass riots, but a month later the case was closed – in accordance with the current procedural code. Anti-Maidan activist Yury Trofimov was also in the House of Trade Unions, but he escaped and left the building without hindrance. According to investigators, Trofimov opened the doors and let people inside. Now he is wanted.
All other cases were filed against anti-Maidan activists who took part in the clashes on the square, employees of the State Emergency Service who did not organize fire extinguishing in time, a police colonel and one pro-Ukrainian activist who, according to the investigation, opened fire at the height of the clashes on the square.
As for the "progressive world community", which "shows no interest", international organizations drew attention to the lack of progress in the investigation into the circumstances of the fire. For example, the UN Monitoring Mission for Human Rights every year reproaches the Ukrainian authorities for the lack of political will and desire to see things through to the end. A 2019 UN humanitarian mission report stated :
“Five years later, no one has been held responsible for the murders of six people and the death of 42 more. Some criminal cases initiated after those tragic events stalled at the stage of preliminary investigation, others at the stage of trial. This shows a lack of interest on the part of the authorities in bringing justice to the victims and bringing the perpetrators to justice.”
