“Brutal attacks on Roma people, LGBT people, and rights activists have been on the rise in recent months in Ukraine," said
Tanya Cooper, Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government has taken little action in response, which cannot but embolden and encourage the attackers.”
Since the beginning of 2018, members of radical groups such as C14, Right Sector,
Traditsii i Poryadok (Traditions and Order),
Karpatska Sich and others have carried out at least two dozen violent attacks, threats, or instances of intimidation in Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Uzhgorod, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and other Ukrainian cities. Law enforcement authorities have rarely opened investigations.