Vyacheslav Ponomarev

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Vyacheslav Ponomarev

Vyacheslav Ponomarjow ( Russian Вячеслав Пономарёв ; born May 2, 1965 in Slavyansk , Ukrainian SSR , Soviet Union ) was the leader of the pro-Russian forces in the eastern Ukrainian city ​​of Sloviansk and called himself the “mayor” of the city after the city administration was violently stormed. In the following days, Ponomarev exacerbated the crisis in Ukraine in 2014 with the appointment of international military observers .

background

The Afghanistan veteran Ponomarjow comes from Slavyansk. It is unclear what functions he assumed before the Ukraine conflict. According to his own statements, he served in the Soviet army and took part in special operations before retiring from the army in 1992. Its forces are mainly local residents, but there are also "like-minded people" from other cities and regions, including former Soviet army comrades from Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. Ponomarev is said to have served a prison sentence and ran a soap factory in Slovyansk. Before returning to Slavyansk, he worked as a construction worker in Kiev between 2005 and 2011.

International military observers captured

On April 25, 2014, armed men under the command of Ponomarev arrested 13 international military observers and their companions in Sloviansk, who had been “bilaterally active in Ukraine under an OSCE document” under the direction of German Colonel Schneider. Among them were three officers and a civilian interpreter from Germany as well as one officer each from Denmark , Poland , Sweden and the Czech Republic . They were accompanied by four Ukrainian officers and a Ukrainian soldier as a driver, who were also arrested. These are military observers from states under the Vienna Document 2011 of the negotiations on confidence and security-building measures . “They are doing well,” Ponomarev later explained: “but I cannot say when they will be released”. They are being investigated by “our security services” because they have no authorization for their alleged observer mission. He regards them as prisoners of war , they are not hostages as the Ukrainian government and foreign governments consider them. The military observers were released on May 3, 2014.

Deposition

On June 10, 2014, Ponomarev was arrested on the instructions of the Donetsk People's “Defense Minister” , Igor Girkin . Vladimir Pavlenko was appointed as his successor in Slovyansk. Ponomarev is said to have been sane due to the stress of his position and consumed drugs.

Since June 20, 2014, Ponomarev has been on the US sanctions list .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Bloomberg Business Week - Retrieved May 1, 2014
  2. ^ Website of the city of Slavyansk [1] Retrieved on May 1, 2014
  3. ^ The Voice of Russia [2] Retrieved May 1, 2014
  4. Julia Smirnova: The Russian invasion has long since begun. welt.de, April 21, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  5. Lyubov Ljulko: Lidery Yugo-Vostoka Ukrainy kto oni? pravda.ru, April 30, 2014, accessed June 7, 2014 .
  6. Ukraine crisis: Slavyansk besieged by the Ukrainian army has 2500 defenders. RIA Novosti, April 24, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  7. Ann-Dorit Boy: Vyacheslav Ponomarev: The leader out of nowhere . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , April 30, 2014.
  8. Alec Luhn: Vyacheslav Ponomarev: the 'people's mayor' who runs Slavyansk. The Guardian online, April 25, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  9. Елизавета Антонова: "Ты бы, Обама, помолчал". Интервью с самопровозглашенным мэром Славянска Вячеславом Пономаревым. In: Газета.Ru. April 23, 2014, accessed May 6, 2020 (Russian).
  10. The newspaper: Hostage-taking in Ukraine. [3] Retrieved May 1, 2014
  11. ^ OSCE statement on the official OSCE website - accessed on May 1, 2014
  12. Ukraine, a developing story. April 25, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  13. ↑ The separatist leader regards Germans as "prisoners of war". t-online.de, April 26, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  14. Die Zeit: Federal Government: Russia must distance itself from the hostage-taking. [4] Retrieved May 1, 2014
  15. Paul Ronzheimer, Sergej Polezhaka: What happens to the "prisoners of war"? bild.de, April 26, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  16. Gazeta.ru: Вячеслав Пономарев
  17. http://ffekty.ictv.ua/ru/index/read-news/id/1517612
  18. США добавили в санкционный список семь имен. In: Голос Америки. June 20, 2014, accessed May 6, 2020 (Russian).