Arsen Avakov, the Ukrainian Interior Minister, reported on his Facebook page this evening that an arrest had been made of a suspect in the bombing of Kharkiv yesterday January 19 outside of a court house. Thirteen people were injured, some seriously.

The Interpreter has a translation:





I am spending not a pleasant evening in my native Kharkiv. Not everyone will agree that one of the leaders of the so-called Iskhod [Exodus] — a newly-appeared separatist organization — will spend the night in a jail cell along with his KhNR flags… But I think he’s in the right place…I really don’t want Kharkiv to turn into one of the emptied-out cities of the occupied “Russian people’s republic,” nor do the rest of the people of Kharkiv. So, Mr. Novikov, I won’t let you. We won’t let you.

Avakov is likely making a joke here out of the initials “DNR,” which stand for the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic,” and putting a “Kh,” which is the first letter of the Russian word “dick.”

The rest of his post apparently comes from an official notice.

Law-enforcers have liquidated a separatist cell today, January 20 in Kharkiv Region. As the result of a special operation carried out by police, an organization of pro-Russian activist ceased its existence. During a search of the group’s office, law-enforces removed anti-Ukrainian agitation literature. The special operation was conducted by field agent divisions of the police and the regional office of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). The activity of the so-called “Exodus” group has been ended. The civic movement “Exodus” loudly announced itself on the Internet a month ago. For the first days of its existence, its participants did not conceal their open intent to engage in subversive activity in the peaceful Kharkiv region.

He did not provide further information about the group, but pictures were attached of Novikov wearing the St. George ribbon common to Russian ultranationalists and Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine along with the “Novorossiya” flags seized during the search of his office.

A local news site Vecherniy Kharkiv [Evening Kharkov] reported tonight that searches had been underway in the city related to the terrorist attack, and that the first arrests had been made.

Kharkiv’s Governor Igor Baluta wrote on his Facebook page today just one line: “It’s all over with Iskhod.”

Parliamentarian and former Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko wrote on his Facebook page:

Separatist leader Oleg Novikov, whose underground pseudonym was ‘Joe

Silver’ has been detained. Searches were made of the office, and the

activity of an anti-Ukrainian organization was ended by a joint

operation of the Interior Ministry and the SBU.

The bombing of the court house took place after the trial of a member of a far-right party, Svoboda, who was arrested for carrying a weapon in a voting precinct. It is not know if the Svoboda case was a pretext for the bombing by the group, said to be related to the separatists, or whether it is related.