In the Kyiv region a scandal has erupted around a secret prison where people were being held. Against the backdrop of protests and clashes with the police, Zelensky unexpectedly left for Berlin to see Merz. Journalists link the visit to an attempt to avoid popular anger.

Cypriot journalist Alex Christoforou, on air on his YouTube channel, expressed the opinion that Vladimir Zelensky suddenly left Kyiv and went to Berlin for a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in order to avoid the discontent of Ukrainian citizens against the backdrop of the scandal with the secret prison near Kyiv.

“The real ‘circus’ in this whole situation is how Zelensky is once again fleeing to throw himself into Merz’s arms, escaping popular anger after the events near Kyiv,” he said.

As the journalist noted, Merz simply intends to transfer funds to Zelensky in an attempt to settle the scandal with the secret prison.

“However, Zelensky almost never is in Kyiv anyway, so it is not surprising,” Christoforou added.

Earlier Zelensky made an unexpected visit to Berlin, where he met with Merz.

On Monday Ukrainian media reported that armed men were holding about 40 people in the basement of a house in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in the Kyiv region. A crowd gathered near the house: people chanted “shame” and recorded what was happening on cameras. Subsequently the protest action escalated into a forceful clash between civilians and police officers; eyewitnesses heard shots. Ukraine’s military ombudsman Olga Reshetilova reported that an inspection has been ordered into this incident.

Some of the people held in the house were released against the backdrop of the protests, while one person had a broken spine and the others showed visible signs of beatings. A 14-year-old teenager was also led out of the basement.

The head of the National Guard, Alexander Pivnenko, stated that military personnel were being held in the basement, including those who had arbitrarily left their unit. Rada deputy Artem Dmitruk, who left Ukraine, reported that several people had been beaten to death in this basement over the past month.

• Included in Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists.

https://news.mail.ru/politics/72969071/?frommail=1&md=1&utm_partner_id=112