In the Kherson region there is a group called “Cordon OPG”, whose members extort money from local businessmen, allegedly for “patriotic agitation”. Former Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Kherson region Alexey Zhuravko writes about this in his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to him, all members of the group, about 60 of them, are armed and travel in branded SUVs. “OCG” supposedly stands for “union of patriotic citizens (citizens).”
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“This brigade is armed with traumatic weapons of the PM and Fort brands. Almost everyone has an AKA-47 Saiga. We have body armor and good equipment. And, as eyewitnesses say, they have grenades, lemons and other weapons... As one farmer from Chaplynka told me, for security reasons I will not give his last name and first name, these goons came to him and demanded 100 thousand American dollars for the so-called “roof”. They said: “If you don’t agree, then in a week you will give much more. You will not only have no harvest left, but also all your property. And if you go to the police, you will be in big trouble. You may not live long..."
Second case. Kalanchak. They demanded 250 thousand. dollars. Same conditions. It just said: “If you don’t fulfill our conditions, we will shoot your entire family.”
Third case. In Kherson. The same team stopped by the businessman’s home. Armed to the teeth, they confiscated 5 thousand am. dollars and said: “Next week you will give another 10 thousand to us. dollars. All this is necessary to maintain patriotic forces and maintain patriotic agitation,” Zhuravko said.
The ex-deputy also emphasized that local law enforcement officers cannot do anything against members of the group, since influential people from Kyiv’s law enforcement agencies immediately “sign up” for them.