What Happened In Odessa

Ukraine Crisis: Death By Fire In Odessa As Country Suffers Bloodiest Day Since The Revolution -- The Telegraph

Roland Oliphant pieces together the tragic events which claimed 42 lives, including 32 pro-Russian protesters who died in a blazing building

Odessa's House of Trade Unions is a five-storey marble palace in the grand style favoured by Stalin-era architects. It could be the centrepiece of almost any city in the former Soviet Union.

On Saturday it was a charred wreck: a morgue and a crime scene. A grief-stricken crowd gathered outside the burnt-out building, including relatives of the dead and the missing, seeking answers to what had become of their loved ones.

They were parents, grandparents and bystanders, all united in shock and sorrow over the street battles that claimed 42 lives here in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on Friday. At least 32 people died in the fire which engulfed this building after nightfall.

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My Comment: Here is a heartbreaking report from the Guardian on a family who discovered their teenage son among the dead in Odessa. RT (Russian TV) is covering this story extensively, even showing videos of Ukrainian nationalists firing into the building. When it comes to RT's coverage of Ukraine I am always skeptical of their coverage .... but their analysis on how the Western media's is covering the tragedy at Odessa is probably spot on. As to who is the Ukraine government blaming for this massacre .... it is is blaming Russia for the deaths in Odessa.

As to what are my sources are saying .... they are saying that after a day of rioting a Ukrainian mob decided to attack a tent city that had been established a month earlier in front of Odessa's House of Trade Union building .... think "Occupy Wall Street" but with a Russian flavor. Because the protestors at this tent city were outnumbered they then fled into the safety of the building where they barricaded themselves in. Molotov cocktails and stun grenades were thrown in .... building caught on fire .... scores ended up dead.

While many were killed in this tragedy .... the sad fact is that Ukraine - Russian animosity and violence is now widespread throughout Ukraine. People are being picked up and beaten, some are disappearing, many are being threatened to leave or face the consequences. In the east and southern parts of the country law and order has essentially broken down. The two groups are now arming themselves, and I fear that it is only a matter of time before we hear reports of another massacre that would make what happened in Odessa minor and insignificant in comparison.