“Effect from this assignment was significant; a kilo of TNT and a liter of good liquid emulated the effect of a vacuum bomb”. Odesa. A terrorist’s diary.

Author: Arsen Avakov

On April 4, the Interior Ministry and the SBU detained several people suspected of organizing a series of explosions in Odesa this winter. Consecutive searches led to discovery of a completed improvised explosive device made of TNT blocks, clockworks, batteries and an electric detonator, all stuck together with a tape. Authorities also discovered components for further assembly of explosive devices, including yet more blocks of TNT, detonators, ammunition and other explosive materials.

This is reported by Arsen Avakov, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, in his article for Censor.NET.

In addition, investigators discovered pages upon pages of handwritten journal entries. This 'Diary of Terror' lists dates, names and nicknames, addresses and amounts from December 2014 through February 2015. The journal entries also provide frightening, yet invaluable insight on the inner thoughts of the terrorists.

The entries feature detailed thoughts and fears, as well as justification for the criminal's dark and murderous actions. Several entries also point to the terrorist's doubts about his course, though apparently these doubts were not enough to prevent his vicious attacks.

Now, behind the bars, this murderer has only his thoughts - and hopefully guilt - to concentrate on. Of course, when standing before the court, the journal-writer will likely present a fresh and likely remorseful account of his activities. Before this,however, we would like to publish his innermost thoughts from the time of the attacks. Unedited and uncut [cut for the English version - ed.], here are the words of this man as he wrote them in his journal.

"It was scary, I moved as on an autopilot… …I moved slowly, afraid to slip and fall down… My legs wanted to run as fast as I could. But I held and kept on walking. My heart was beating somewhere in my throat from all this adrenaline in my blood, but I had to hold back… The time was passing. But there was no explosion. My nerves are tingling; it felt like just a little more - and all my veins will burst; and at this very moment I heard a thud similar to a landslide in the mountains. Surrounding people didn't even pay attention, but I knew that the device has worked. Hooray! I called the Blogger and my wife right away. The work is done".

And the next line, business-like, as if evaluating some office project, "The work is done…".

While reading his account, we found it interesting how little of his thoughts where dedicated to explanation of the meaning or goals of his "work".

Another interesting observation is that his fear is always talked about from a singular perspective ("I'm scared"), however his mention of any consequences is plural, as though everyone is in this fight together, "… we showed that there are people who are not indifferent to the fate of Odesa…" "Odesa is fighting!"

But here's the trouble: the us he writes about doesn't really exist. There are very few volunteers, especially amongst the youth, a frustrating fact he writes about. "I met with Ihor, he's nervous, angry… Ihor joked joylessly, bitterly, that if youth doesn't support the movement then we have no future".

"The boys went ahead (it's funny to say 'boys' - one of us is 45 y/o, another is 50 and I'll be 55 in three days; if we are the 'boys,' then our youthfulness is not even second grade, more like third grade)…"

Another interesting observation is the absolute lack of empathy for this criminal's victims. Only once does he even mention the victims, and the comment is far from remorseful, "… two afro-niggers were taken out cold in body-bags…" Not a single extra word is dedicated to civilians he killed for 'his cause'. It's clear that confessing to being a murderer, even to one's own diary, is not an easy task, certainly not as easy as simply writing that, "the work is done…"

Some of the entries, especially towards the end of the journal, emanate sincere fear and concern. Yet further in the journal, there is simply no more analysis given, only quick entries about names, dates, amounts of explosives and cash. No more self-reflection and no more justification.

Below, we are including several of these entries. We are printing these entries nearly verbatim, only obscuring some of the names and addresses in the interest of the ongoing investigation. Please continue reading A journal of a terrorist from Odessa.

"Dec. 22, 2014. Started receiving supplies: TNT, detonators, grenades.

Dec 23, 2014. They have internal disagreements, they divide power. Fedor has been arrested.

Dec. 24, 2014. Quietly drove away, left through the other door. Took with us two kg of TNT, six grenades and fivedetonators. Luda forgot the money and the passport.

Dec. 25, 2014. 6 a.m. We are in Odessa. We were checked nine times en route, it was scary. The load was in my bag, just in case, so the other would arrive.

Dec. 26-27-28, 2014. Slept, ate, relaxed, met people, did house chores, sent produce to Luda and Fedor, got medical treatment.

Dec. 29, 2014. It started snowing, all the traffic stopped.

Dec. 30, 2014. Went to the Central Bus Station, all the traffic is stopped, the bus hasn't arrived. Went to Ihor, discussed the plans.

Dec. 31, 2014. Arrived at the Central Bus Station at 9 a.m., received a parcel at 3 p.m.: more than two kg of TNT, 10 detonators, six bullets for Makarov pistol, and one grenade. Was just in time for the New Year.

Jan. 1, 2015. New Year.

Jan. 4, 2015. 8 p.m. Bityi, Kortes, and Martin met at a trolleybus stop, took a trolleybus and went to the city. It was 8 p.m., the streets were heavily snowed, passers-by were slipping and fighting, and we moved to the *** street. We had a chocolate bar, a knife, a lighter-flashlight and 800 gram of TNT with a time trigger. We walked around the target for a while, then bought a bottle of vodka, sat down with Kortes in a park, assembled the landmine (Bityi was waiting couple of blocks away), came back, and I went. It was scary, I moved as on an autopilot. The object was at the end of the block. At the beginning, on the other side of the block I squatted, put a battery into the clock, made sure they started up, opened an umbrella and moved on. I was moving very slow, was afraid of slipping and falling, looked around, afraid to miss the noisy front porch. Here it is, I stooped, put the bag down and stepped forward. I wanted to cross the street but saw a girl speaking on a phone. I looked back and was stupefied: a huge National Guard soldier in uniform was walking within 10 meters of me. My legs wanted to run as fast as I could, but I held and kept on walking. My heart was beating somewhere in my throat from all this adrenaline in my blood, but I had to hold back. I crossed the street, met with Bityi and we went towards the Pryvoz market together. Kortes got lost somewhere behind. We split on the Mala Arnautska street, Bityi went to his place, I kept on moving. The time was passing, but there was no explosion. My nerves are tingling; it felt like just a little more - and all my veins will burst; and at this very moment I heard a thud similar to a landslide in the mountains. Surrounding people didn't even pay attention, but I knew that the device has worked. Hooray! I called I immediately called the Blogger and my wife at home. The work is done.

Blogger gave 1000 hryvnias+$100+$350(to me)+$800(to Kortes) for the period between Jan 1 and Jan. 23, 2015.

The Big gave 2000 hryvnias.

Jan. 26, 2015. Liosha gave 100 hryvnias. Feb. 3, 2015 - Liosha - 1000 hryvnias.

****

Feb. 2, 2015.

1:20 p.m. At ***, in the area *****, looking for the Right Sector's office, left without finding and soaked wet.

?03.02.15

7:30 p.m. Drove to the meeting place, near the Circus. Saw patrol cars and walking patrols, either doubles or triples. Don't feel comfortable and cozy in the city, as if it's a completely foreign city even though it's your home. 8 p.m., almost no pedestrians, only dog-walkers with their dogs stroll near the buildings. Almost all backyards are locked with coded locks. Walked around, looked, found a place for placement (temporary storage).

8:50 p.m. Met with Ihor, he's nervous, angry. Went to hide the bomb and met with Zhenia already empty. Ihor joked joylessly, bitterly, that if youth doesn't support the movement then we have no future. We have both the future and the support; it's just very hard for now.

9:30 p.m. Moved to another place, ate a piece of pizza each, half the chocolate bar (mandatory), Zhenia wanted some more but alas. Ihor made a few gulps of vodka for "firing up blood" and we went to work. There were a lot of people, which meant that the city isn't asleep, just not many are outside. Zhenia was on a lookout, we entered a backyard, took out the bomb and started connecting gathering in a dark corner. Suddenly Igor touched me:

- People, watch out, let's hide, he said.

- Stay quietly, let them walk where they have to, we are doing our things, I said quietly without even changing my pose. The woman quickly moved to the other side of the backyard and disappeared in the doorway. I finished the assembly, laid the bomb, and we exited to the street. I only had left to put a battery into a clock. The boys went ahead (it's funny to say "boys" - one is 45 y/o, another is 50, and I'll be 55 in three days; if we are the "Boys", then our "youthfulness" is not even second grade, more like third grade). I walked for about 30 meters.

10:30 p.m. I inserted the battery but it didn't go straight. I couldn't hook it with a fingernail, it didn't work out. It's a good thing I had a nail with me. I hooked it with the nail, took it out and inserted it again. This time successfully. I listened, both my heart and the clock ticked, which means the countdown has begun. I caught up with Zhenia, he already put on a hat, covered his face with a scarf and got ready to open an umbrella in one movement. That's it, the time "T" has come. Ihor was walking first, Zhenia was walking on his side about 20 meters behind, I was bringing up the rear. The lighting was good, all the street lights were on, plus light from the windows, but we couldn't have gone in the middle of the night. About five meters before the office "***", a 6^th model Lada stopped; the driver opened his door and started picking at his dashboard. When Zhenia got close to him, he opened an umbrella and covered himself with it. Here he passes the car, here he gets close to the first of the three windows, here he puts a bag (three liters of ammonal, about 2.5 kg), here he straightens up and keeps on walking. He passed the second window, the third, an arch of the doorway, and here he almost bumps into a girl with a large German Sheppard exiting the building. Fuck, only for him not to run, for his nerves to hold. Moved past, good for him; and the Sheppard squatted right there on the sidewalk, the owner made it look like she's searching for some stars in the sky. We keep on walking, I hear a phone conversation behind a glass door, and thankfully the glass is matte, brown color. Everyone exited from ***, sat in the car and at that moment a patrol car drove past us on ***. We drove away in a few minutes as well.

11:00 p.m. We are standing on *** for 15 minutes already and waiting for results. Ihor is nervous, talks more than usual, Zhenia is nervous and he's bursting from inside, I'm shaking and chewing chocolate. We have about five, maximum 10 minutes left. We emanate such a strong wave of emotions that a prostitute who stood about 20 meters from us couldn't withstand it and moved to about 50 meters. Every second we are waiting for the explosion and our hopes die with every passing second, and here it is "Booom". Hooray! We can relax. We didn't cause any major damage, but we showed that there are people who are not indifferent to the fate of Odesa.

Feb 3, 2015. 1:30 a.m., internet is quiet, only in the morning the First City (channel) said that a bottle with liquid was found. Ihor was there at 8:00 and saw a fully cordoned block, saw an ambulance, patrolmen, police, special lab and street cleaners sweeping glass and garbage. **********************************

After that Ihor had a depression, I had to make some explanations to him.

Feb. 10, 2015

9:30 p.m. …

- It's here, Ihor whispered, we went down quietly and exited into the backyard. At the end of the backyard there was another building with a red square on the door, but we didn't start solving this puzzle. After a short conversation we decided to start working.

10:00 p.m. After connecting the power and quickly saying goodbye, we exited to the street. It was quiet and calm. Several people walked by. We walked maybe 30 meters and entered a doorway. We lifted the scarfs on our faces; put the hoodies on, Ihor opened an umbrella and carried the bomb. Everything happened in 15 seconds. And here we are outside, walking towards the car… Ihor proposed not to leave and check the job.

10:45 p.m. Waiting, 30 minutes passed since the lighting of the fuse, we already ate a chocolate bar each, already went into some backyard, Ihor already finished drinking his ration - and there's still no result.

Nerves are not holding up, I understand that something didn't work.

10:50 p.m. After a discussion we decided to remove the bomb. We couldn't leave a third bomb, especially with TNT. I went to the car to get scissors in order to cut the power cables. I was absolutely clear that this is the end - either we'll blow ourselves up or we'll get caught. It was pitch dark and I walked into the darkness, squeezing a small pair of scissors in my pocket. Ihor came from around the corner, he had some wooden stride, as if his knees wouldn't bend.

- No need to go, he said. I didn't understand why, there had been no explosion, it was quiet.

- It went off, everything worked, we can leave.

- Are you sure? - I asked. - Are you absolutely sure?

- Yes, everything is fine, let's go.

We passed about 20 meters and saw a first patrol car shooting past us hurrying to ***.

I reached for a phone and called Misha:

- The bell rang on ***, it was at 11:03 p.m.

We got home without incidents. Effect from this work was significant, a kilo of TNT and a liter of good liquid emulated the effect of a thermobaric bomb. Armored doors at both apartments were blown away, complete devastation inside the apartments (by a complete incident, the second apartment, belonging to an ex-wife of ******, had been destroyed, five tenants quietly left on their own, two afro-niggers were taken out cold in bags (instructors, were training Odesa Right Sector). Palytsia accused Hurvits in destabilization of the situation in Odessa, but *** is convinced that it was an attempt on him (who the f*ck needs him).

Well, thank God, it worked! Hooray!

Feb. 21, 2015. Failure on ***. Gas - 300 hryvnias, personal money allowance - 200 hryvnias, preparation - 100 hryvnias.

March 4, 2015. Wednesday, dry, warm.

10:00 p.m. Met at ***, schemes with the Right Sector. They were in the house, in body armors with black-and-red emblems on the sleeves (15-20 persons). There were around 10 guys in track suites around them, clearly westerners (from Western Ukraine), small facial features, angry, specific mugs. Four of them headed towards us, but Ihor first and after that I took sips from a bottle of vodka and they demonstratively turned around and went back. I was shaking; if we had grenades, we would have thrown them and would have stayed there also. I haven't seen such quantity of the enemies so close (under five meters) since May 2. The job was decided. Understanding that we are going into the tiger's jaws, we decided to blow them up…

11:45 p.m. We were sitting in a car with a bomb on our laps and I was making the last connection. Hands were shaking. Any tiny mistake, and our souls are up with the angels. I asked for a complete silence, everyone froze, and I firmly joined the wires. We entered onto ***, stopped the car, turned off the engine and inserted the batteries. Listened, the clock started ticking. The countdown to the explosion has begun. Ihor and I exited the car; Zhenia drove to an agreed meeting point. We put the hoodies on and walked, raised the scarfs to the eye level and went to the target. The bag weighted down the hand (the bomb had a liter and a half of good liquid). Backyard was well lit; the arch was flooded in light. We saw a flag of the Right Sector and went past it. Found the backyard of ***, entered. … Left the bomb and exited to the backyard.

… We didn't hear the explosion at expected time. After waiting for another three minutes of control time, the guys got into the car, embarrassed and discouraged. When I opened the door I heard remote, muffled, quiet rumble.

-I think it's good, but not sure, I said and we went home, especially since a passing by patrol started looking at us.

The first question at home: Yes? And the answer: No! I'm in shock. But in 15 minutes, there's a call from Ihor: "Yes!!! " "Hooray!!! "

That night the Right Sector got beaten in a casino and simultaneously their office and the whole backyard were successfully attacked. Odesa is fighting!"

* * *

They live nearby, maybe even in the neighboring stairwell, they ride the same public transport, walk the same streets of our cities - and prepare terrorist acts, carry death in their bags. Only together we can stop them - with our attention, vigilance, maybe even excessive anxiety. So be it! Perhaps it will save someone's life!

Arsen Avakov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine for Censor.NET