Volunteer and chaplain of volunteer battalion got beaten by pro-Russian grouping

A pro-Russian criminal group of about 10 people attacked with knives and clubs the chaplain and volunteer of the 8 separate volunteer battalion of Ukrainian volunteer army ‘Aratta’. The incident occurred the evening of August 19.

It was reported by the battalion press-service page on Facebook.

“In the city of Vasilivka, Zaporizhya region, a pro-Russian criminal group of about 10 people attacked the chaplain of the separate volunteer battalion of Ukrainian volunteer army ‘Aratta’ Father Mykhailo Ilnytskyy and our friends - volunteers and Roman Volytskyy and Stepan Soluka,” the statement reads.

According to fighters, the attack was planned in advance. When the chaplain and volunteers stopped at a VOG gas station, motorcycle with Russian numbers approached them, and a minute later - a car with Kharkiv registration numbers.

“The bandits cut the wheels of a bus that the chaplain and our friends were riding, and inflicted severe injuries. Roman, who walks with a stick and could not quickly respond to the attack, was beaten especially severely,” the witnesses said.

As a result of attack one of the volunteers was injured on his head. People managed to protect themselves from blades of the knives that the attackers tried to apply.

Employees of the gas station shut the door when they saw the fight, instead of helping the volunteers and chaplain.

"An employee of the gas station threw out a phone that the chaplain gave her to call the police. It looked as if the employees worked together with criminals," the battalion members added.

Volunteer Soluka was taken from a medical institution. According to clarifications provided, the attackers were 15 men armed with knives and a club, and someone even managed to take their picture. The photograph was not made public yet. This was reported by Gazeta.ua.