UKRAINIAN authorities imposed a curfew in the eastern city of Odessa today, with citizens banned from leaving their homes to mark Moday’s anniversary of a fire in 2014 that killed more than 40 people.

“Obviously, this decision of the authorities is due to the fact that May 2 is a very important date for the inhabitants of Odessa,” the Repression of the Left Telegram channel said. 

On that day, a least 48 trade unionists were burned alive as they took shelter from supporters of the US-backed Maidan coup, while police were filmed firing their guns into the trade union building. 

No-one has been held accountable for the atrocities, despite footage identifying the perpetrators and the names of many of those responsible allegedly being known to the Ukrainian authorities. 

Many were trapped inside as crowds below chanted “burn Colorado burn,” a reference to the pro-Russian colours of ribbons worn by some of the protesters. 

As the fire tore through the building, the Ukrainian national anthem was sung by those gathered outside, taunting the trapped people as they burned to death.

Nationalists daubed the House of Trade Unions building with swastikas and graffiti reading “Galician SS.”  

“Every year on May 2, residents of Odessa come to the House of Trade Unions, where the tragedy occurred, to honour the memory of the victims,” the Ukrainian left-wing group said. 

“But also every year on this day, they are attacked by representatives of ultra-right groups with the inaction of the police.

“This year, the authorities decided to prevent any gathering on May 2. Everyone who leaves their home on May 2 will be detained under the terms of the ‘curfew.’”

Further repressive measures have targeted left and religious groups in Ukraine, with a number of opposition parties set to be barred from contesting elections at any level. 

A Bill tabled in the Supreme Council of Ukraine proposes that ban on parties including the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU), the Opposition Platform – For Life and the Socialist Party of Ukraine be extended for at least 10 years. 

The KPU was banned in 2015 following the Maidan coup, while others were outlawed by presidential decree in March this year. 

Another Bill seeks to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the country’s second-largest religious organisation, although speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said that the move would be postponed until after the war. 

The UOC has faced state repression since the establishment of the pro-government Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which has its own patriarch, in 2018. The UOC remains subject to the Patriarch of Moscow, who has expressed support for the Russian invasion.